In Memory Of Dan Gionet...
Gionet, 23, of Pelham was killed June 4 when a homemade bomb went off near his tank in Iraq. Also killed in the explosion was 1st Lt. Ryan Sanders, 27, of College Station, Texas.
Gionet was clinging to life just after the explosion, said the Rev. Robert Guillemette. However, Gionet told rescuers to save his comrades and not worry about him, Guillemette said. In doing so, he said, the soldier put the life of others before his own. Guillemette touched the soldier's casket and thanked him for his service.
Connors asked everyone in the church who knew Gionet to close their eyes and imagine him. When they did, he asked, "He's smiling, isn't he?
"Dan had an ability to bring a smile to everyone's face because of the way he was and because smiles are contagious," Connors said.
Gionet played baseball and football and was on the wrestling team in high school. Connors said he was almost too nice to play football or wrestle. He was a talented baseball player, Connors said, and remained dedicated even as he was outshone by one of the best catchers in the school's history. The two had a running joke, he said. After almost every game, Gionet would tell him, "If I was on their team, I would have starred."
"He would go out of his way not to bring you bad news," said his father, Daniel, who lives in Lowell, Mass.
"He was very well-liked, and we'll miss him dearly," said his grandmother, Theresa Trepanier. "We'll never be the same without him."
"He kind of stepped up to the plate and got people interested," Principal Dorothy Mohr said. "That's how the wrestling team started."
"He loved joking around about everything," said Brian Mackey, 21, who also worked at the Icenter. "He got everyone to smile."
"You could definitely characterize him as a true patriot," said Dan Lebel, a former schoolmate who joined the Army Reserve a year before Gionet's own enlistment. "He had a lot of love for his country, his school, his town. He had a big heart."
Dan was the type of person, who was friends with every one. And if someone wasnt friends with dan that was because they havent met him yet... dan had a big heart that just couldnt stop loving... R.I.P Dan
A soldiers life is more important than you think... May all that have Fallen R.I.P. and .... thank you
HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?..
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