Taunton mourns soldier's death

Shane Duffy walked of the field last month after being honored for his service to the country. (MIKE COHEA/GATEHOUSE MEDIA NEWS SERVICE)

TAUNTON - His hands shaking and his blue eyes full of tears, Keavin Duffy pulled his wallet out of his back pocket yesterday morning and took out a photograph of his infant granddaughter. Standing on his expansive front lawn, with a bevy of small family dogs running large circles around him, Duffy cupped the photograph in his hand.

"This is my son's daughter," said Duffy, a veteran town firefighter, his voice trembling. "She lost her father."

He looked somberly off toward his winding dirt driveway, where his daughter, Shannon, had just pulled up. His older son, also named Keavin, stood next to him, gazing at the picture and appearing to hold back tears. Then, he walked into his house to wait for a US Army official to arrive and provide details about the event that claimed the life of his youngest son, Shane Duffy.

Duffy, a 24-year-old Army sergeant, was killed in Iraq this week, just after returning to duty from a visit to his hometown.

The news shocked Taunton. Duffy was the first soldier of this community to die in combat in the Iraq war. He had visited his hometown only weeks before, watching his sister make the game-winning hit in a high school softball game on May 23. Duffy was honored before the game for his service to the country, and then he took in the game with his daughter sitting on his lap.

"There's no words for that," Shannon Duffy said then of the experience of having her brother in the crowd. "I was so happy that I did well. For this to be his first game really watching me for Taunton High, it was awesome. I'm so happy he got to see me play. I just hope he comes home safe."

The family was notified of Shane Duffy's death Wednesday. By Thursday morning, every flag on municipal property in the town was at half-staff, at the request of Mayor Charles Crowley, who has known the soldier's father since grade school.

"Shane is a true hero, who came from a place with a strong tradition of service in the military," Crowley said. "He's the latest example of heroism and what being a Tauntonian is all about. We're a strong community that has the feel of the family, so I know that many of our residents will remember the Duffy family when they say their prayers."

Michael Sylvia, deputy chief of the Taunton Fire Department, said he has worked with Keavin Duffy for the past 15 years. "He's a very family-oriented man. I know all his kids, and they've always been very close-knit. They are all devastated."