SPC NARSON B. SULLIVAN
411th Military Police Company
Army
Spc. Narson B. Sullivan , Age 21, of North Brunswick, N.J.
Assigned to the 411th Military Police Company based in Fort Hood, Texas
Killed by a non-combat weapon discharge in Iraq. The incident is under
investigation.
(www.militarycity.com)
NARSON B. SULLIVAN
(USA Today)
Teachers
recall Narson Sullivan rollerblading through the hallways and
courtyards of his high school — a tall, athletic and handsome kid whose
enthusiasm for life was infectious.
“You’d go
out there to admonish him about violating the school rules by
rollerblading in the courtyard, and the next thing you knew, you had
the darn things on your own feet and he was teaching you how to skate,”
said Rob Allen, a teacher at Middlesex County Vocational and Technical
High School in North Brunswick, N.J.
Sullivan,
21, graduated in 2000 and joined the Army with his longtime friend,
Matthew Richter. They had expected to serve on the buddy system but got
separated. Sullivan, based at Fort Hood in Texas, was killed April 25
in Iraq when he was cleaning his weapon and it discharged, according to
the Defense Department.
“He was
really a great kid. A nice person. Focused and polite,” recalled his
high school principal, Diane Veilleux. “He always had a beautiful
smile.”
Nancy
Richter, his best friend’s mother, who works at the school, said, “I
remember him and Matt, eating, watching TV, making plans. He used to
call me ‘Mom,’ which was part of his sense of humor — because we’re
white and he was black. He liked to see people’s eyebrows go up.”
His aunt,
Tabatha Sullivan, said, “The thing that’s so upsetting is that we
thought this was all over and that he was out of danger. We want
everyone to know that we’re praying for all the other soldiers who are
there. We wish they all could come home safe.”
Soldier's death ends family's high hopes
(The Star-Ledger - New Jersey)
By Dore Carroll
Star-Ledger Staff
No. Brunswick
man noncombat casualty
Wednesday,
April 30, 2003
Relief was
fleeting for Spc. Narson B. Sullivan's family.
As American
forces liberated Baghdad and combat in Iraq wound down, the fears
Sullivan's North Brunswick family had lived with since he was deployed
in the first days of the war had finally begun to subside.
They hoped
the 21-year-old military police officer was out of danger.
So they
were caught somewhat off guard Friday when they learned Sullivan was
killed in Iraq in what military officials described as a "noncombat
weapon discharge."
"We were
finally feeling some relief that the war is over," Sullivan's father,
Bertil Legair, said yesterday outside the family's blue-shingled home
off Livingston Avenue in North Brunswick. "It's hard for anyone to
accept."
Legair, a
native of the Caribbean islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, last
saw his son two months ago, when he visited home before shipping out to
Fort Hood, Texas, to join the 411th Military Police Company. He was
deployed to Iraq on March 18.
Sullivan's
mother, Robin Legair, his twin sister Natasha and 11-year-old brother,
Daryl, are devastated, the father said.
The U.S.
Department of Defense has not released additional information about
Sullivan's death, and his relatives remain in the dark about how, or
even where, Sullivan was killed.
"We don't
know anything," said Legair, shaking his head.
Henry
Kearney, an Army spokesman at Fort Monmouth, said the incident is under
investigation. "I'm sure the family will ask for an investigation
report," said Kearney.
Sullivan's
body should be returned home within seven to 10 days. Sullivan joined
the Army in August 2000, a few months after graduating from Middlesex
County Vocational and Technical High School, where he studied culinary
arts.
An aspiring
chef, Sullivan enlisted with hopes of attending college or culinary
school.
"Who knew
there was going to be a war?" said Bernice Rosen, his former guidance
counselor. "We thought it would be a good opportunity for him."
At home,
Sullivan whipped up meals of seafood and exotic spices tossed with
pasta. "His heart was so kind, he would help anybody," said Legair.
"Anything anybody ever needed, he was there for them." His aunt,
Tabitha Sullivan, smiled yesterday when she recalled how sharp the tall
and thin young man looked in his uniform.
"He was
always in shape," she said. "He loved to rollerblade. That was his
skill."
In high
school, Sullivan played soccer, and worked hard at his studies to
overcome a learning disability. Teachers described him as a polite,
smiling and hard-working student.
"It seems
like such a waste for this great young man to be gone like that," said
Diane Veilleux, assistant principal. "We had a lot of hopes for him. He
was very hard working, very focused."
"Everyone
here was definitely proud of him for his accomplishments," said Jeff
Bicsko, an English teacher.
North
Brunswick officials plan to honor Sullivan with a public memorial of
some kind and will consult with his family after funeral arrangements
are finalized.
"This
really brings it home for us. We want to do something that would be
fitting to publicly honor Narson," said Robert Lombard, the town's
business administrator.
After
completing basic training and advanced military police officer training
in Missouri in January 2001, Sullivan was assigned to the 92nd Military
Police Company in Germany. Three months ago, he was assigned to the
411th Military Police Company in Fort Hood.