More than 300 people fill church to say goodbye to Army Spc. Daniel Cunningham Jr.

By Daniel Hartill
Staff Writer

LEWISTON – For long minutes, the only sounds Tuesday morning were a tolling church bell and the clicking heels of the soldiers removing the American flag from the casket of Army Spc. Daniel Francis Cunningham Jr.

It was a funeral of quiet moments for the Lewiston native who died in Iraq.

More than 300 people filled St. Joseph’s Church to say goodbye to the fallen soldier, known for his disarming smile and easy humor. He was more than that, though.

The soldier died helping people be free, said mourners. Among them were family, friends and area leaders. They included Gov. John Baldacci and U.S. Reps. Michael Michaud and Tom Allen. There were also about 20 members of the Maine Army National Guard.

On April 4, the graduate of Oxford Hills High School was one of three soldiers who were killed in Iraq when their vehicle fell into a ravine. He left behind his wife, Heather, and a 10-year-old son, Connor.

Monsignor Charles Murphy, a cousin who serves a Catholic parish in Falmouth, performed the burial Mass Tuesday in the Main Street church.

The young soldier was prepared for the sacrifice, Murphy said.

Before leaving for the Middle East, Cunningham had told his mother he was proud to help people defeat tyranny and find their first taste of freedom.

If he helped one person, then his journey to Iraq would be worth it, he had told her.

“Danny contributed to the world’s salvation,” Murphy said. At 33, he was the same age as Christ when he died, he said.

The death came much too soon, though.

In his eulogy, his brother James imagined the years together they will miss and thanked him for the time they had.

“You showed me how to be a man, how to treat women and respect my elders,” said James, 24.

On the day Daniel died, James had written him a letter. It was never sent though. Before James could mail it, the news of the accident arrived.

“I decided to write a new letter to say the things I may have forgotten to say,” James said.

He told his brother what a model he had become. They liked the same music and made the same kind of friends.

And Daniel taught him character.

When their father died six months ago, Daniel kept the family together, he said.

“You never cracked,” James read from the letter. “You stayed strong for the family.”

Then, he said goodbye.

“I hope you are safe now,” he said. “I hope you are with Dad, keeping him company.”

When James came down from the pulpit, he stopped and kissed his brother’s casket.

Daniel’s godmother, Judy Bellas, offered another eulogy.

She remembered the day “Little Danny” was born and his endearing smile.

“He had the ability to make you laugh, even when you were in the foulest mood,” she said.

Mourners prayed and took communion. Four children, two boys and two girls, sat erectly in fatigue-colored uniforms marked “Young Marines.”

A soloist performed “Danny Boy.”

As they listened, men rubbed their eyes and sank in their seats. Women wept into tissues, tucked into their fists.

And the singer sang his lyrics:

“And I shall sleep in peace until you come for me.”

dhartill@sunjournal.com