Falmouth bids solemn farewell to fallen serviceman

“Obviously, when anything like this occurs, we’re going to make it mandatory to be here to show them respect,’’ said David Eastman, 65, a Navy veteran who did not know Gallagher but attended his funeral.

Seats were scarce inside St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church for the funeral of a soldier whom friends and family described as loyal and generous. He leaves his wife, Katie.

“He loved Katie and our family so much,’’ Abbey Hall, Gallagher’s sister-in-law, said at the funeral Mass yesterday morning. “This was one of those things you never thought would happen to you.

“The horrors of this war took his life away before it truly even started,’’ she said.

The cause of Gallagher’s death, reportedly of noncombat injuries, is still unclear pending an investigation. He was with the First Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas, and died in Wasit Province in eastern Iraq, two weeks before he would have returned on leave for his 23d birthday.

“Nobody knows what happened,’’ said Terry Dunn, Katie’s grandfather. “It would be a godsend for the family to find out.’’

Gallagher met his wife at Falmouth High School, and they had been married for 18 months, Dunn said. His family said he joined the Army with his sights on becoming a police officer, but discovered he enjoyed the military and talked of reenlisting.

“The military really helped him rededicate his life to Katie, and it helped him focus,’’ said Chris Landers-Cauley, 28, of West Falmouth, who knew Gallagher for several years.

Gallagher’s mother, Cheryl Ruggiero, described a loving son and husband who grew up quickly in the Army.

“Matt became a soldier, maturing before my eyes,’’ she said. And when he married Katie, Ruggiero said she told the young wife, “That’s my Matt; please take care of him.’’

The couple moved to Texas, where Gallagher was stationed before his recent second deployment to Iraq.

The Rev. David Frederici said in his homily that Gallagher was motivated to serve by his family and friends and that the person he became “was the result of his family.’’

“He was one of the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing,’’ Hall said.

Ben Wolford can be reached at bwolford@globe.com.