This morning we shared with you a tribute to Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan. Now, the remaining three fallen Marines from yesterday’s shooting in Chattanooga, TN have been identified. Their honor and sacrifices to our nation will never be forgotten. Read about the men they were and the loving family and friends they leave behind in the tribute below. Be sure to keep them in your prayers.
Lance Cpl. Squire K. “Skip” Wells, 21, Cobb, GA
Skip Wells was a young man who always put others before himself.
His close friend Lindsey Pittman met Skip when they were in sixth grade. They became fast friends as they both were fellow “band nerds” – Wells manned the clarinet. Lindsey noticed his Marine-like qualities right away.
“He was just a protector, he looked at everyone with love. And he would go anywhere to protect anybody.” she said.
Skip was in Chattanooga less than two hours when a terrorists bullet’s killed him. He was in town for two weeks of artillery training. His love for service started well before he joined the Marines, joining ROTC at Sprayberry High in Marietta, GA.
“It’s the wrong way for a Marine to go,” His ROTC officer Lt. Commander Dennis Wonders said. “A Marine is here to serve his country and go into harm’s way knowingly, and it’s not what you expect going to the parking lot of a reserve center.”
Everyone who knew Wells gushed about how great of a man he was. He was a volunteer at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park and played in the church orchestra at First Baptist Church in Woodstock where a family spokesperson said he was almost “revered.”
Skip also attended Georgia Southern University for a year. The school issued the following statement:
The entire Georgia Southern University community is saddened by the news that former student and Marine Skip Wells was killed yesterday in the Chattanooga tragedy along with three fellow Marines. Skip was enrolled as a student from 2012 through fall of 2013.
The Eagle Nation offers our deepest condolences to his family and the families of those killed and wounded during this incident.
What is most tragic is the final text he sent to his girlfriend. May he rest in peace and honor.
HEARTBREAKING: AP has obtained victim Marine Skip Wells’ last text to his girlfriend: http://t.co/mIrBWRxfc3 pic.twitter.com/AzXpEu9aUq
— WTVC NewsChannel 9 (@newschannelnine) July 17, 2015
Marine Skip Wells pictured here with his mother Cathy was ID as one of the four Marines killed in Chattanooga. pic.twitter.com/AyN4Ah6kuu — I love my U.S.A (@WEdwarda) July 17, 2015
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
Lindsey Pittman was surprised when she heard that her close friend Skip Wells wanted to be a Marine. Yet, it made sense.
“He was just a protector,” she said Friday after news broke that the 21-year-old Sprayberry High School graduate was one of four Marines killed Thursday in an attack at the Navy Reserve Support Center in Chattanooga, Tenn. “He looked at everyone with love. And he would go anywhere to protect anybody.”
[revad1]
Sgt. Carson Holmquist, 25, Polk, WI
Susan Holmquist, mother of Sgt. Carson Holmquist said it was 7pm when officials came to their home to inform her and her husband Tom that their son was one of the fallen in Chattanooga.
“[We’re] just trying to make it through the day.” she said.
“It’s a tough time right now,” his father, Tom Holmquist added. He wanted to give no other comment aside from “He was fighting for his country.”
Across his hometown of Grantsburg, WI this feeling was mutual. Everyone who knew Carson knew the pride that he beamed at being a Marine.
“I vividly remember when he came back to the high school after boot camp,” his high school football coach Josh Watt told the Associated Press. “He was dressed in his blues and very proud of his accomplishment to have become a Marine.”
Sgt. Holmquist leaves behind a wife and a two year old son. Last May, they welcomed him home from his second overseas tour in Afghanistan. The scene produced this amazing photo.
Carson also earned numerous awards including the Navy Marine Corps Achievement, two Sea Service Deployment ribbons, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and a Global War of Terrorism Service Medal.
We pray his family and friends find peace during this most difficult time. May he rest in peace and honor.
The tragedy in Chattanooga, TN has hit home for many, family and friends of those fallen included. I am a part of that…
Posted by Dakota Meyer on Friday, July 17, 2015
Sgt Carson Holmquist killed in the #ChattanoogaShooting. His picture is on the Wall of Honor at Grantsburg High in WI pic.twitter.com/DdFET1PlCK
— Joe Augustine (@JAugustineKSTP) July 17, 2015
Found out a former student of mine from Grantsburg was one of the 4 Marines killed in TN. Carson Holmquist, you will be missed!
— Brad Jones (@FChockeyguy) July 17, 2015
__________________________
From WQOW:
Eau Claire (WQOW) – One of the Marines killed in Thursday’s shooting in Chattanooga is from Wisconsin.
Sargeant Carson Holmquist grew up in Grantsburg, in Burnett County. A family friend say he leaves behind a wife and a young boy.
He’s remembered as a great young man, who enjoyed football, hunting and fishing and was very proud of being a Marine.
Holmquist’s former football coach, who is the current high school principal says its a sad day for the small community of 1,300 people.
Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, 37, Burke, N.C.
There were so many mourners at the home of SSgt. David Wyatt that neighbors thought that the family was having a party. One woman said “There were seven or eight cars there last night. I thought they were having a party. It didn’t go through my mind.”
This gives you a glimpse into how much this great man meant to those around him.
On his wife’s Facebook page, in response to a family member saying there will be no sleep tonight, she simply said “none.”
David was a proud Marine and father. He grew up in Russellville, AR where he played football and in the band in high school – even playing at Bill Clinton’s inauguration as a band member!
An officer from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office stood guard as those that loved David gathered. SSgt. Wyatt was called a devoted husband of 11 years and loving father to two children he leaves behind.
One St. Louis Rams official had this to say on Twitter:
Heartbroken to learn one of the Marines killed in Chatt. yesterday was a hs classmate of mine. Thank you David Wyatt for your service #RIP
— Casey Pearce (@ccpearce) July 17, 2015
4th Marine ID Staff Srgt.David Wyatt 37 years old pictured with his wife and kids. pic.twitter.com/gzk0KyvBC7
— I love my U.S.A (@WEdwarda) July 17, 2015
_______________
From THV11:
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (KTHV) — The family of Russellville, Ark. native Staff Sgt. David Wyatt are remembering a man known for his humor, kindness, and dedication after he was killed in Thursday’s Chattanooga, Tenn. attack of a military facility.
Wyatt’s sister spoke with THV11’s Dan Grossman on Friday. She said Wyatt graduated from Russellville High School in 1998. He played football and was in the band, and he even played at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration.
Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, 40, of Springfield, MA.
READ TOMMY SULLIVAN’S PROFILE HERE
