Category: Family
Posted: 2007-05-30 22:46
Rick's mom Tess Gannon came across this article. It was written by E.B. Furgurson III staff writer for the Capital-Gazette, Annapolis, Maryland.
Marine hero inspired others to do their best
Area Scouts honor Maj. Rick Gannon, who was killed in Iraq, and others on Memorial Day
By E.B. FURGURSON III, Staff Writer
Maj. Rick Gannon was only in Annapolis for two years, but the Marine Corps officer had a profound impact both at the U.S. Naval Academy and on local Cub Scouts he led.
His leadership here was but a preamble to that which he displayed in later commands; out front, setting a high and tough example that his Marines would "follow down the barrel of a cannon" one said.
It was the same mettle and bravery he exhibited in Iraq, along the Syrian border, where he was killed during a firefight on April 17, 2004.
The courage that earned him the Silver Star, and the eternal honor of his brothers, might have come from birth.
Maj. Gannon, you see, was born on Memorial Day.
Not the modern three-day holiday weekend, marked by shopping, cookouts or a trip down the ocean, mind you - but the traditional May 30, the date celebrated as Memorial Day since 1868, before Congress changed it to the last Monday in May.
First called Decoration Day, it was a day to remember the sacrifice of those who gave what President Abraham Lincoln called "the last full measure of their devotion" in all America's wars.
Some say that notion of the holiday is gone, perhaps forever, but others still observe the day by honoring soldiers who gave up their lives for their country.
Local Boy Scouts uphold that tradition, placing flags at the veteran's cemeteries in Annapolis and Crownsville. They did so again this weekend.
But at Crownsville yesterday there was a twist, before the several hundred Scouts set about their solemn task, they paused to honor Maj. Gannon.
His widow, Sally Gannon, was on hand to accept the James E. West Fellowship Award, named for a founder of Scouting in the U.S., and honoring those who make donations to Scouting.
"I am so honored," Mrs. Gannon said. "Rick had such a passion for Scouting. Scouting had such a profound effect on him as a boy (and) he wanted to share that with others."
He served as Cubmaster in Pack 366 at Calvary United Methodist Church in Annapolis a few blocks from the academy.
"Doing this these Scouts are surely upholding their pledge to be reverent," District Chairman T.J. Furlong told the crowd.
Keith O'Kelly and his company, Chesapeake Protection Services, donated the money to the James E. West Fellowship to make the honor for Maj. Gannon possible. In brief remarks he said, "No one ever leaves us when their memory is alive."
To which Mrs. Gannon said, "I won't ever have to worry about that."
After the ceremony more than 200 Scouts, some from Pack 366, fanned out to uphold the decoration part of Memorial Day. In less than an hour they placed 12,800 flags - one at each grave marker.
Scouts honor
From all accounts Maj. Gannon took the lessons of Scouting to heart and carried them into his service as a Marine and the Corps' Semper Fidelis - always faithful - creed.
Like a good Scout he did his best, did his duty, to God and country. He set a good example, and a standard to strive for.
Robert Morris, a 16-year-old Eagle Scout from Annapolis, was in Cub Scout Pack 366 when Maj. Gannon served as Cubmaster.
"He had an amazing influence on my life," he said. "He kept us motivated."
He was very active and kept everything going, former pack leader Dan Shearer said.
"He could inspire the boys, he had that leadership quality, that Scout spirit, all of that came out of him."
He had such an impact on Robert Morris, the young man placed a photo of Maj. Gannon on the altar during his Eagle Scout ceremony.
"That is how I found out about him," said Chuck Roydhouse, who was chairman of the Capitol District Boy Scouts of America at the time. "I attended the Eagle ceremony and saw that picture."
Not sure about the connection, he asked parents and Scouts after the ceremony. "All the kids thought so highly of him. His reputation carries on."
That gave Mr. Roydhouse and others the idea for a district-wide award in Maj. Gannon's name given to the area Cub pack that best exhibit's Scouting's creed.
While he drove his charges hard he also had a capacity to include the group in accomplishment. One of the most memorable moments Robert Morris had of his late mentor was a Pinewood Derby ceremony.
"He not only had the winners come up, even kids who were in fourth or fifth place got a shot on the podium. That is such a good memory."
Part of the desire to be a Scout leader was sharing that time with his children; his oldest son, Rick, was a Cub Scout in Pack 366.
"The Scouts made such a huge impression on his life as a child he wanted to share that for his own boys," Mrs. Gannon said.
He left his wife and four children, three boys and a girl behind. Mrs. Gannon says their two younger boys Patrick, 9 and Connor, 8, are just getting back into Scouting at home.
"It was such a shock, it has taken some time because that is something they did with their dad," Mrs. Gannon said after yesterday's ceremonies.
Semper Fi
Mrs. Gannon said she is keeping it together with the help of so many people, some strangers. Several people offer words of comfort, or relate a story about Maj. Gannon's impact on their children's lives.
"I am lucky really, I have the military, Marine wives and others, I have the Scouting community, and family. I have so much support."
Richard J. Gannon II was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Escondido, Calif., when he was 4-years-old. His parents, Richard and Tess Gannon still live there. The father had been a Marine captain in Vietnam.
Maj. Gannon showed his toughness early on, running his first marathon at age 9. He became a an Eagle Scout before graduating high school.
At graduation he was awarded a Naval ROTC scholarship at Cornell University, he graduated in just 3½ years with a dual degree in history and political science.
He received his commission as a Marine lieutenant on Jan. 13, 1995 and married his wife, Sally, the next day. Maybe it was patriotic fervor and love, you see Sally Gannon was born on the Fourth of July.
After commanding two platoons he was ordered to Annapolis in 1999 to take the Navy Leadership Education and Human Resources Development (LEAD) program. Upon completion of his masters in Leadership from the Naval Post-Graduate School, he became the 13th Company Officer at the academy from the summer of 2000 through the summer of 2002.
"Everything you envision in a Marine officer, he was it," said Capt. Scott Cuomo, who was in 13th Company at the academy and the Class of 2001. "He was tough. He was at work when you got up. At the end of the day, he was there. Anything you needed, he was there."
Capt. Cuomo, now at the Marine War Fighting Lab at Quantico, Va., training lieutenants, remembered when he had an opportunity to go to Georgetown University for a semester, then Capt. Gannon wrote a recommendation for him. "He wrote an in-depth recommendation, he did everything he could."
And the relationship didn't end at Annapolis.
As Capt. Cuomo was rising through the ranks, his mentor was there. "He told me read this, do that, think this."
After Capt. Cuomo helped take Baghdad in 2003 he knew Maj. Gannon was in Karbala, some 70 miles away. He told his commanding officer he thought he should check the security situation in Karbala.
"He knew exactly what I was up to, but he let me go. I drove 70 miles to try and find him. He was in a day-long interview."
When they both got back stateside he went to see his mentor again. "I was back two days. That first weekend I went to visit him, it was a two-hour ride. Can you imagine your average wife, three days after your get back, telling her you had to go visit somebody? That would not go over to well. But she understood."
That understanding and respect took a joyous turn last month. Capt. Cuomo named his first born son after Maj. Gannon, and his wife's grandfather who landed on the beaches of Normandy.
"That is one heck of a standard he will have to look up to ..." Capt. Cuomo said.
The Class of 2002 remembered his leadership and camaraderie on a Web site for their fallen leader last year. In part it read:
"The Naval Academy was lucky enough to have ... the most motivated Marine Captain we ever knew. ... (then) Captain Gannon was the sole reason that many of us worked so hard one summer to become Marines."
Leader among men
Maj. Gannon worked hard too. He was slight, not tall in height, but a giant in stature to his Marines.
One who served with him, then Sgt. Michael Yugo, recalled Maj. Gannon as executive officer of his unit in 1998.
"He drove us hard. He was a scrappy little guy, but he would run us all day, and he'd still be going," said Mr. Yugo, who now lives in Washington and works for a security firm by day and pursues a music career by night. "We would get him to put extra weight in his pack and he would still run us into the dirt. We could not beat him."
Years later while serving in a Marine force protection unit, Mr. Yugo was assigned to an outpost in western Iraq.
"I saw him ... it had been about five years, but Capt. Gannon was in charge of that camp."
He had been sent to that outpost with 300 Marines and told to secure the border. He was reportedly given the mission over three higher ranking officers because of his leadership skills. "I had supper in the burned out mess hall with him two nights before he got it," Mr. Yugo said
"I told him, 'these kids are fiercely loyal to you'. That is saying something because, historically, there is usually not a lot of love between enlisted men and officers."
One reason was he empowered his sergeants and others to do their jobs, and come to him with ideas to meet the mission.
"He trusted his Marines, he gave more authority to junior Marines than some officers get. He would let them take the initiative," Mr. Yugo said. "It was unusual to have a captain who was accessible to sergeants."
"The last thing he said to me after that dinner was that he was just a paper pusher moving stuff around on a map."
Two days later he and three others were killed.
About 200 mujahadeen fighters had slipped into Husaybah and started attacking patrols and other areas. "The whole place blew up on us," Mr. Yugo said.
The citation for the Silver Star awarded posthumously read, in part:
"... By his bold leadership, wise judgment, and complete dedication to duty, Captain Gannon reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."
... And what Memorial Day is all about.
Hundreds of Scouts and their families did their duty yesterday, turning a hallowed fields of grass and stone into a sea of Old Glory. As they left the fields surrounding the grove of trees where the ceremonies were held were soon empty.
On the winding road out, amidst the thousands of flags, stood a lone woman. She stooped to place flowers on a grave, and stood, head bowed in her own Memorial Day vigil.
Remembering.
Ali & Norma
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