Staff Sgt. Darren J. Cunningham - Age 40, of Groton, Massachusetts, died September 30, 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq when his unit came under mortar attack.  Cunningham was assigned to the 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.
(www.military.com)

A FATHER, A JOKER, AN ATHLETE, A SOLDIER
BUT ABOVE ALL, A FRIEND
Serviceman killed in Iraq never forgot his Groton roots
From: Lowell Sun Online
By DAVID PERRY, Sun Staff
(http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4746~2440903,00.html#)

Bill Bauch still remembers a smiling kid in his eighth-grade science class, 26 years ago.

"Even then," said the veteran teacher at Groton-Dunstable Regional High School, "I remember him talking about wanting to go into the military one day, to serve his country."

And when Bauch heard the news yesterday that Darren Cunningham, a career soldier and Groton native serving in Baghdad, had been killed in his sleep at age 40 by a mortar shell, "my heart just sank," said Bauch. "But when I thought about him I could see his smile."

It was 22 summers ago that Cunningham left the high school with a diploma, and signed up for the Army when so many others headed to college.

Cunningham, a staff sergeant with the 545th Military Police Company of the Army's 1st Cavalry, died Thursday when his unit came under mortar fire. He also served in Operation Desert Storm. He was assigned to the Army's 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. 
 
Army Staff Sgt. Darren Cunningham, shown in Iraq in July, had served in the military since graduating from Groton-Dunstable Regional High School in 1982. 

The flag at the high school in Groton was at half-staff yesterday in honor of Sgt. Cunningham.

"He hadn't been here for a while, but was still a part of the Groton-Dunstable family," said Principal Joe Dillon, who announced the news to the student body yesterday morning and asked for a moment of silence.

College "wasn't his choice," said Dean Beresford. "The military offered a job, discipline, an education, and a chance to travel."

Everyone knew he wanted that. It was right next to his picture in the high school yearbook.

"My ambition is to enjoy life to the fullest," he wrote, "see the world."

"He was a great guy," said Beresford, his best friend. "Everybody loved him. Boisterous is a word that comes to mind. Lively. A lot of fun, a good friend to everybody."

Beresford met Cunningham in elementary school, and they bonded during recess.

By high school, their bond was cemented, and in 1981-82, they were named co-captains of the Crusaders varsity basketball squad.

"He was a good player," said Beresford, now 40, living in Marshfield and working for an investment management firm in Boston. "But when he was named co-captain, that was one of the happiest moments of his life."

He played small forward, applying his stocky, 6-foot frame to opponents when needed. Maybe even sometimes when not.

"He was a good athlete, always had a smile on his face, very upbeat," said Peter O'Sullivan, who taught physical education at the high school until the year Darren graduated. O'Sullivan's son was on the basketball team with Cunningham.

"Very funny, big guy," Jeff O'Sullivan said from his home in Connecticut. "And very strong. Two years ago at the 20th class reunion, he was definitely still physically fit."

Dean Beresford was a point guard and small forward. He and Cunningham got their letters as juniors and seniors and played in a few tournaments, "made a little bit of noise," said Beresford.

"He was a bruiser," he adds with a laugh. Cunningham played soccer, too.

"He was a good athlete, rough. One of those players, I guess Cam Neely is the prototype. It was great if he was on your team, but if he wasn't, it could be your worst nightmare. Perfect for a military police officer."

(Some of this may explain another yearbook passage: "I dislike delicate guys, people who back-stab, and gymnastics.")

"He probably should have had skates on, but he never got into hockey. Too much of a farm boy." The small farm out near the Westford-Groton line had some pigs.

"It was very rural," said Beresford. "But after all that time, it's different now."

But the friendship never changed.

They continued to hang out. There was summer league basketball. Phone calls, visits, e-mails.

When the class of '82 gathered for its 20th reunion, Cunningham was there.

Beresford's daughter Nicole, 11, and Cunningham's, Kate, 12, became close friends.

And Cunningham last called Beresford last weekend.

"I'd just gotten home from a business trip to Japan. He was in touch right up to the end."

"He was a soldier. The discipline did well by him."

He specialized in traffic accidents, said Beresford.

"He had to know a lot of math he never paid attention to in class in high school. Trigonometry, geometry. But he knew it all cold. At Fort Hood, he was the guy they'd call."

Beresford said Cunningham was "a little apprehensive" about leaving the military, which he planned to do next spring, according to his family.

"He was doing very well," said Beresford. "He had a great reputation at the base. But he knew he wanted to stay in Texas to be near (his daughter) Katie."

He was thinking about "some sort of Texas Safety Division job, essentially a police thing doing what he did in the military. He wanted to stay in law enforcement, I'm sure."

In July, Cunningham had a couple weeks' leave.

"He spent a week of it with my family here. Darren brought up his daughter, Kate, from Texas. He saw his mom, which was great. We did the cookout thing, had a few beers, hit the beach. Went to Boston for a day. It was perfect."

On a previous visit, said Beresford, Cunningham pretty much displayed his personality.

"He was up here with my family, and I was at work. They were playing charades. The clue came up 'dancing bear.'

"I guess Darren was going through all kinds of gesticulations, but the kids weren't getting it. And then, right before the hourglass ran out, he whipped off his shirt. He was just about bald, and this was the hairiest human being ever. And almost immediately, both kids yelled, 'a bear!'

"That was typical of him. He went the extra mile for entertainment value."

Before he left for Iraq, Cunningham called Beresford and told him, "I'm volunteering, it's what I want to do"

So Beresford got on a plane and spent three days in Texas.

"At one point, he gave me his will and said, 'just in case.'"

"Among the things Cunningham also wrote about liking in his yearbook brief were "true friends."

"He was very committed to being there and thought it was the right thing to do. He said it was a small pocket of Iraqis who were making the trouble there. He was a bit nervous about them, and rightfully so."

"But he volunteered to go," said Beresford. "He was there to train Iraqi police and help them develop an infrastructure."

Cunningham was twice divorced, said Beresford. But he remained on good terms with his second wife, and was friendly with his second wife's husband, also serving in Iraq.

"It turns out, he was one of the guys who found Darren's body," said Beresford.

Cunningham called his mother Wednesday to say he would be heading home on Nov. 3, a month earlier than expected.

He had been in the Army for a long time, doing what he apparently knew he wanted to do a long time ago. He went far, but never forgot his true friends.

"I didn't realize he had been in (the Army) that long," said Bauch, the science teacher. "It was along time ago, but I haven't forgotten him. I just feel awful. I guess it sort of feels like when a student dies in a car crash. But you know, I'm very proud of what he's done."

A scholarship fund has been established in Cunningham's name. To donate, write to: Staff Sgt. Darren J. Cunningham Scholarship Fund, c/o Middlesex Savings Band, PO Box 1188, Groton, MA 01450.

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