Armed Forces News

The five service members who died when a gunman attacked their offices July 16 were honored in the city where they lived and worked. “In the chaos … they were selfless in their efforts to take care of one another, and they acted with unquestionable courage,” Maj. Michael P. Abrams, the commanding officer of the four Marines who died that day, said in an Aug. 15 ceremony at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. The four — Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt, Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist, and Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells — were killed when the gunman opened fire at the Navy Operational Support Center in Chattanooga, where they were stationed. The gunman later moved to a downtown recruiting office and killed the sailor –Logistics Specialist Randal S. Smith. Vice President Joseph Biden, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan W. Greenert, and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus were present at the ceremony.