Thursday, 4:30 PM
Mourners gather for Quincy soldier killed in Afghanistan
(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)
Several hundred people carrying flags lined the route of the funeral procession, including Hannah Murphy, 6, of Quincy.
By Brian Ballou, Globe Staff
A crowd of about 2,000 people turned out this morning in Quincy for the funeral of Ciara M. Durkin, a 30-year-old Army National Guard soldier from that city who died last week in Afghanistan from a gunshot wound.
Durkin was remembered as a quirky woman whose smile lit up a room and who considered the well-being of others before herself. Her sister, Aine Durkin, read a 24-line poem dedicated to her sibling, each paragraph ending with a reference to Ciara Durkin's "wild red hair."
After an almost two-hour-long funeral, hundreds of mourners, including Governor Deval Patrick and US Senator John Kerry, formed a loose circle around the soldier's family, seated outside in front of the church.
There, in a brief ceremony, representatives from the Army handed the soldier's mother several awards given to Durkin posthumously. Then the crowd shuddered as a deafening noise pierced the air -- a rifle salute to the Durkin, who was posthumously given the rank of corporal.
