More than 3,500 people attended Monday’s funeral for local athlete and Navy SEAL Brendan Looney, who was later buried at Arlington National Cemetery next to his best friend and Naval Academy roommate, Travis Manion.
Described as a role model who always pushed those around him to be their best, Looney, 29, died Sept. 21 with eight other military personnel in an accidental helicopter crash in the Zabul province of Afghanistan.
His service was held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to accommodate the anticipated crowd — but not even the approximately 3,500 seats in North America’s largest Roman Catholic church were enough for mourners. More than 100 people stood for the 90-minute funeral mass.
Looney and his brothers, Billy and Steve, were known in the Washington region for their athletic prowess at DeMatha Catholic High School and the Naval Academy. The Silver Spring family had strong ties in the DeMatha community.
“He was a person who was always loyal, had a sense of humor and concern for others,” said Father Damian Anuszewski, the DeMatha priest who gave Looney’s eulogy. “Think of the joy Brendan brought into our lives — how impoverished our days would have been without this lovely gift.”
Anuszewski, who emphasized leaning on faith in times of great sorrow, had two years earlier presided over Looney’s marriage to Amy Hastings. Three days after the July 2008 ceremony, Looney was deployed to Iraq.
It was in Iraq where Looney’s best friend, Manion, was killed in action in 2007. After the death, Looney said he was dedicating his Navy SEAL training to his friend’s memory. Manion, who had been buried near Philadelphia, was reinterred last Friday at Arlington. Looney was buried alongside him at the request of both families.
Looney played varsity baseball and football at DeMatha and was part of the 1998 football team that brought home a conference championship. At Navy he switched to lacrosse and in 2004 he and his brothers were starters for the team that lost to Syracuse University in the NCAA championship game, 14-13.
Looney’s siblings described their older brother as someone who drove them to excel. During Monday’s service Steve Looney recalled one particular hit Brendan laid on Billy during a Navy lacrosse practice that even caught Head Coach Richie Meade’s attention.
“Coach Meade said, ‘you almost killed your brother,'” Steve said. “And Brendan said, ‘yeah, coach, well he needed it.’ ”
Through tears, Bridget Looney recounted childhood stories of trying to impress her older brother. Her story about the three of them jumping on a bed while trying to not hit their heads on a rotating ceiling fan brought a wave of laughter to an otherwise somber service accentuated by a steady rain outside.
