October 14, 2000
Cherone Louis Gunn; Virginia Beach

© 2000, The Virginian-Pilot

 Seaman recruit, signalman

Gunn joined the Cole's crew on May 23, just four months and three days after he joined the Navy.

The 22-year-old signalman graduated from Kempsville High School in 1997, where he played junior varsity football.

``He worked in the office as an office assistant, so we got to know him really well,'' said Louis Tonelson, principal of the Virginia Beach high school. ``He had a wonderful sense of humor. He was polite, well-mannered. . . . He was just always happy and smiling.''

Gunn was raised in Virginia Beach, and his mother is principal at Fairlawn Elementary in Norfolk. But he lived in Rex, Ga., in recent years. Brandon Ervin, a neighbor there, said Gunn used to baby-sit for his children.

``Most guys his age, their thing is to go out and party, not to give their time to anyone else,'' Ervin said. ``To see a guy like him be able to share his time with children, that was really great.''

Gunn's twin brothers, also graduates of Kempsville, told Tonelson of the tragedy. ``They wanted for us to hear it from them,'' the principal said. ``That's just an example of the kind of family they are.''

Eric Curry, a longtime friend, saw Gunn in July during a pickup basketball game at Kempsville Recreation Center. ``There were a lot of other guys there from high school,'' Curry said. ``We were on the sidelines, talking to him about military life.''

Gunn said he enjoyed being in the military, Curry recalled, because it kept him busy.

 

Click on links below to visit Seaman Gunn's Living Memorial Site

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