Police and military veterans attended a funeral Wednesday for an LAPD officer and Marine Corps bomb specialist who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Cullins was killed Oct. 18 in Helmand province.
Blue Ribbon Trust: Scroll down for information.
"He was an incredible young man... a person who had accomplished so much by the time he was 28," said LAPD Cmdr. Bill Fierro outside Our Lady of Angels Cathdral, site of the service. "He had been deployed overseas a number of times, and because of his job as a bomb technician, he had saved many lives."
A family spokesman read a statement from Cullins' father: "He was my oldest. He taught me how to be a dad. He saw me at my best and my worst. And every time I saw him looking at me, looking to me for an example, I tried my hardest to be the best parent I could be."
The funeral Mass was followed by a procession to the burial site at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck was among the mourners.
"Godspeed, Josh Cullins; Godspeed, my brother," Beck said. "God bless you. God bless your family, and God bless the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department."
Cullins, who was on his second tour of duty, became the second officer-reservist to die in an roadside bombing in Helmand province in a year. SWAT officer and Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Robert J. Cottle was killed March 24.
He had two days left in the field as an explosive ordinance disposal technician when he was killed while investigating a roadside bomb near Marja. A secondary explosion was set off as he investigated an earlier blast.
Cullins, who expected to be home for Christmas, planned to join the LAPD bomb squad when he returned. Detective Jack Blanchard said that his military experience with "a little higher level, more powerful, a wider variety" of explosives would have been an asset.
Cullins' body was returned to Los Angeles Thursday via a volunteer Angels Flight aircraft that was met by Marine Corps and LAPD honor guards.
Cullins disarmed roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. In July, he survived a roadside explosion in Afghanistan that left him with a concussion.
Cullins had three years with the LAPD, working as a patrol officer downtown.
Cullins enlisted in the Marines after graduating from high school in 2000 and joined the reserves in 2007. His last tour of duty was with the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment.
The Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union opened an account to assist Cullins' family. Checks payable to "Blue Ribbon Trust for Joshua Cullins" should be sent to: Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union, Attn: Blue Ribbon Trust for Joshua Cullins, P.O. Box 10188, Van Nuys.
