Remembering the Life and Memory of...

LCpl. Vincent M. Sullivan

Hometown: Chatham, New Jersey, U.S.
Age: 23 years old
Died: July 23, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Marines, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Birth: Dec. 15, 1980, USA
Death: Jul. 23, 2004, Iraq
Lance Cpl. Vincent M. Sullivan of Chatham, New Jersey had worked for a Manhattan accounting firm while taking classes at County College of Morris. He had toyed with the idea of joining the Marines before, but after Sept. 11, he was determined to do the right thing, join the Marines and fight. He was there so that other people would not have to be, so that other people would not die. He was there because his instincts told him to be. Back home in America, Erika took a leap of faith and wrote to her one-time boyfriend, Vincent, in Iraq, telling him how much she loved him. Across an ocean, Vincent was doing the same thing at about the same time. The letters passed in the mail, and after Vincent returned from his first tour in Iraq, the two were engaged. They celebrated their Dec. 27 wedding by going bowling and planned to visit Hawaii for their honeymoon when he returned for good. He was killed by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq at age 23.

Marines
1st Battalion
2nd Marine Regiment
2nd Marine Division
II Marine Expeditionary Force
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
 
 
Inscription:
US MARINE CORPS
 
Note: IRAQ Burial:
Brig. Gen. Wm. C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery
Wrightstown
Burlington County
New Jersey, USA
Plot: Sec O2 Site 4747

Last April, Erika Sullivan took a leap of faith and wrote to her one-time boyfriend in Iraq, telling him how much she loved him. Across an ocean, Lance Cpl. Vincent M. Sullivan was doing the same thing at about the same time. The letters passed in the mail, and after Vincent Sullivan returned from his first tour in Iraq, the two were engaged. They celebrated their Dec. 27 wedding by going bowling and planned to visit Hawaii for their honeymoon when he returned for good. Sullivan, 23, of Chatham, N.J., died July 23 during a firefight in Anbar province. He was based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Sullivan had worked for a Manhattan accounting firm while taking classes at County College of Morris, said his mother, Susanne Sullivan. He had toyed with the idea of joining the Marines before, but after Sept. 11, "he was determined to do the right thing, join the Marines and fight," his mother said. "He was there so that other people would not have to be, so that other people would not die," said his wife, Erika. "He was there because his instincts told him to be."