Justin J. Duffy

Wednesday, June 17 2009 @ 02:21 PM EDT

DAVENPORT, Iowa — “Full of blarney” but kind and gentle was how Sgt. Justin J. Duffy, a Moline, Ill., native with Nebraska ties, was remembered by family at his visitation Thursday.

Duffy’s large extended family, scattered across the country, planned to come together for two weddings this summer. This week, they are gathered in Moline to say farewell. Duffy, 31, of the 82nd Airborne Division, was killed in Iraq on June 2 when the Humvee he was driving hit an improvised explosive device.

Patriot Guard Riders stood watch and their flags snapped in the breeze outside Rafferty Funeral Home as people paid their respects to Duffy’s family Thursday. The funeral is 10 a.m. Friday at Sacred Heart Church in Moline, followed by burial at Rock Island National Cemetery.

He attended Seton Catholic School and lived in Moline until the sixth grade, when his family moved to Cozad, Neb., where he graduated from high school.

“He was a good guy,” said Jesse Parker, Duffy’s brother-in-law. “He was full of blarney. He always had a story.”

Parker is a police officer and martial arts instructor. Duffy, who had a degree in criminal justice and was Parker’s first student, wanted to ride along with his brother-in-law on a police shift to share their experiences, one as a police officer, the other as a paratrooper.

“He got to do what I wanted to do,” Parker said. “I wanted to get him in the car and ask him questions.

“He was smarter than staying in Cozad and working in the factory. He went out and did what he wanted.”

Deployed since December, Duffy was always asking his family for care packages filled with candy to share with children in Iraq. Apparently, the packages weren’t coming as frequently as he wanted.

“He was always saying, ‘Where is the next one? Where is the next one?’” said his uncle Charles Kuhlman.

In March, Duffy was scheduled for a two-week leave, but his father told him to stay at Fort Bragg, N.C., with friends rather than travel to Nebraska, said Chris Duffy, an uncle. Those friends in his unit were now part of Sgt. Duffy’s family.

“You add to what you already have,” Chris Duffy said.

Friends in Nebraska called Justin Duffy “Shepherd,” his uncles said, from when he worked as a bar bouncer and gently took keys from people who had too much to drink or diffused angry situations with a calm word.

Eighteen soldiers from Fort Bragg, where the 82nd Airborne is based, are attending the visitation and funeral. The soldiers serve as pallbearers, fire the 21-gun salute, play taps and escort the body.

Col. P. Dudley Neal, a chaplain with the 82nd Airborne, spoke with the family on several occasions and consoled them at difficult times.

“I was at the funeral home when the casket was opened,” he said. “That is an emotional moment — and not all caskets can be opened.”

==Another news story==

MOLINE, Ill. — The two soldiers used to talk about who would have to speak at whose funeral.

Sgt. Rob Pangaro and Sgt. Justin Duffy met in the Army. They became friends over conversations about the Yankees and their families.

On Friday, Pangaro stood in front of dozens of mostly strangers and did what the two used to talk about.

Pangaro honored Duffy at his funeral.

“He was a true gift,” Pangaro said during what became a raw, funny, tear-filled tribute at the end of Duffy’s solemn funeral Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Moline. “I love you so much. I miss you. You’ll always be in my heart.”

Duffy, Pangaro said, was a man of few words. Yet he was a shepherd, leading others with his quiet way.

He made sergeant less than two years after joining the Army. His family, his faith and his country were his priorities.

“He was not just a good soldier, he was an excellent soldier,” said Maj. Gen. Robert Radin, top-ranking general at the Rock Island Arsenal. Radin presented Duffy’s family with the medals Duffy earned.

Duffy, 31, of the 82nd Airborne Division, was killed June 2 in Iraq when the Humvee he was driving hit an improvised explosive.

He attended Seton Catholic School and lived in Moline until sixth grade, when his family moved to Cozad, Neb., where he graduated from high school.

His family chose to bury him at the National Cemetery on Arsenal Island. His grandfather remains in the Quad-Cities.

One of the last times Pangaro talked with Duffy, Pangaro told him the news that he was about to become “Uncle Duffy” — that Pangaro and his fiancé are expecting a child.

Duffy was his best friend, even though Pangaro does not have friends in the military, he said.

He doesn’t have them because of what he was there to do on Friday.

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