Capt. Christopher J. Sullivan Hometown

Yesterday, Principal Robert Thompson had to break the news.       ``We had to let them know they can't send the letters, but we're going to forward them to his parents,'' said Thompson, who knew Fuller since he was a tyke just starting school.      The 26-year-old platoon leader from the small Western Massachusetts town of Granville, a 2001 Massachusetts Maritime Academy graduate, was killed Wednesday when a CH-53 transport helicopter crashed in a sandstorm in western Iraq, while taking Fuller and his men to help seal the border for tomorrow's election.      Fuller, the son of David and Joanne Fuller of Granville, was someone you could rely on to get the job done, someone who knew since he was a boy that there were some things in life you just had to do, friends and educators said.  ``He was a kid who did things because they were the right thing to do,'' Thompson said. He told the children yesterday, ``We grow up in a small country town. Sometimes we feel like the bigger world doesn't affect us.      ``But we encourage our kids to go out in the world and make a difference. That's what Travis did,'' Thompson said. ``Unfortunately, he had to make the ultimate sacrifice.''      ``He was proud to be there,'' said Mass. Maritime Acting President Richard Gurnon, who remembers Fuller as a ``really fine young man . . . someone you'd like your own son to grow up like.''      ``He was a stand-up guy. He was always ready to do whatever needed to be done,'' said Navy Lt. Chris Tibbetts, an academy classmate. ``All he ever wanted to do was be a Marine Corps officer and lead his Marines into battle and do the best he could.''      Fuller led his platoon in the brutal house-to-house fighting in Fallujah last fall and was wounded by shrapnel last month. He sent back e-mails that offered ``down-to-earth descriptions of the hell he was in,'' Gurnon said.      But Fuller conveyed ``a sense he was accomplishing things. He was making the world safer.''      ``It is just such a crushing blow,'' Gurnon said.

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — Marine Sgt. Andrew K. Farrar Jr., who re-enlisted after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, died Friday on his 31st birthday while on patrol in Iraq, his father said Sunday.

The Weymouth native, scheduled to return home to his wife and two young sons in three weeks, was electrocuted when he ran into a high-voltage wire on patrol in Anbar province in western Iraq, said Andrew Farrar Sr.

Farrar nearly returned to civilian life in 2001 and took the police civil service exam to prepare for a career in law enforcement.

Then came Sept. 11.

“He was scheduled to discharge a month later,” his father said. “He re-enlisted after 9-11 to serve because he knew others wouldn’t be able to serve. His whole approach was selfless.”

The family planned to travel to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Monday for a military funeral. A service in Weymouth was being planned for later this week.

Farrar’s wife, Melissa, was his high school sweetheart at Weymouth High School. They married in 1996 and he joined the Marines a year later. They have two sons, Tyler, 6, and Liam, 2.

Farrar was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He led his squad of young Marines during fierce fighting in Fallujah last year.

“He was profoundly patriotic,” his father said. “We’re proud of him and we’re proud of all service men and women.”

Farrar, who was the oldest of four children, is the third Massachusetts native killed in Iraq this month, and at least the 26th overall since April 2003.

Andrew K. Farrar Jr. nearly left the Marines for civilian life in 2001, even taking a police civil service exam to prepare for a career in law enforcement. Then came Sept. 11: "He re-enlisted after 9/11 to serve because he knew others wouldn't be able to serve," said his father, Andrew Farrar Sr. "His whole approach was selfless." Farrar Jr., 31, of Weymouth, Mass., was electrocuted by a high-voltage wire while he was on patrol in Iraq on Jan. 28. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune. Farrar was scheduled to return home to his wife and two young sons in three weeks when he died on his birthday. Farrar leaves behind a wife, Melissa, who was his high school sweetheart. They married in 1996 and Farrar Jr. joined the Marines a year later. He is also survived by two sons, Tyler, 6, and Liam, 2. "He was profoundly patriotic," his father said. "We're proud of him and we're proud of all service men and women."

Of Jacksonville, NC, formerly of Weymouth, died on his 31st birthday, Jan. 28, 2005, in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, while serving his country. Beloved husband of Melissa V. (Xayavong) Farrar. Loving father of Tyler Andrew & Liam Patrick Farrar. Devoted son of Andrew K. Sr. & Claire M. (Gaudiano) Farrar of Weymouth. Brother of Jason M. & his wife Jillene Farrar, Nathan P. Farrar and Bethany L. Farrar all of Weymouth. Grandson of Ralph B. and Joanne Farrar of Weymouth, Eileen C. Gaudiano of Weymouth and the late Edward J. Gaudiano. Son In Law of William and Onechang Workman of Weymouth and Bruce Xayavong of Las Vegas. Loving uncle of Luke A. Farrar. Also survived by many aunts, uncles and cousins. Visiting hours in the NORTH WEYMOUTH McDonald Funeral Home, at 40 Sea St. (off Rte 3-A) Friday from 3:00-8:00 P.M. Funeral Mass in St. Francis Xavier Church, South Weymouth at 10:00 A.M. Relatives & friends invited. Interment, Mt. Wollaston Cemetery, Quincy.