Services held for Master Sgt. Christopher Raguso of the 106th

Thousands of mourners gathered at a Kings Park church Saturday to honor Master Sgt. Christopher Raguso, a National Guard airman and FDNY lieutenant who died in Iraq and was remembered by a fellow firefighter as one whose “entire life was dedicated to the service of others.”

“When men like Chris pass, we’re forced to reflect on our own worthiness,” said Lt. Christopher Gorzynski, who served with Raguso in Ladder Company 113 in Flatbush, Brooklyn. “Deep down, we know we will never measure up to the bar he has set.”

Raguso was one of seven men — one of four from the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Air Rescue Wing in Westhampton Beach — who were killed when their helicopter crashed March 15 near the Syrian border.

Raguso, of Commack, had deployed multiple times to war zones, in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, and last year he traveled to Texas and the Caribbean to help hurricane victims there, his father, John N. Raguso, recalled in his eulogy at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

When Christopher Raguso left for Iraq in January, “he had promised everyone it would be his last time going to war,” the elder Raguso said, before describing how the family had celebrated his son’s 39th birthday via FaceTime on March 14, the day before he died.

Raguso’s flag-covered coffin arrived and departed the church on an FDNY truck draped in purple and black bunting.

Before traveling to Calverton National Cemetery for the burial, Raguso’s daughters, Eva, 5, and Mila, 6, were handed the helmets of Ladder Company 113 and Engine Company 302 in Jamaica, Queens, as their mother, Carmella Raguso, looked on. Raguso was to join the engine company some time after his return from Iraq, an FDNY spokesman said.

In the sea of FDNY uniforms and a smattering of military fatigues near the church stood many civilians, including some, like Scott Melnik, who had never met Raguso but felt a need to honor him.

“He put his life on the line for us,” said Melnik, 46, of Kings Park, as he stood with his wife and two sons. “The least we can do is show him respect.”

Raguso joined the Commack Volunteer Fire Department in 2000 and the FDNY in 2005. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2016 by the FDNY, which honored him six times for bravery and lifesaving actions.

“Whether it was as a member of New York’s bravest or our Air National Guard, he knew that he was called, charged, sent forth to be of service to others,” the pastor of St. Joseph’s, the Rev. Seán J. Gann, said in his homily.

Gann noted how Raguso’s funeral was on Holy Saturday, the day after Jesus died on the cross, a day when Christ’s disciples were grieving — but also the day before Easter, when Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead.

“This Saturday we are just like them . . . sitting in stunned silence and heartbroken. But there’s tomorrow,” Gann said.

In the pews sat New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), who said in a eulogy that Raguso was a “hero, patriot, everything that we aspire to be as a people, as a nation, as Americans.”

FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said Raguso leaves a wide legacy that includes the wounded U.S. military members he rescued when he flew into combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Make no mistake: Many Americans who bravely defend our nation are alive today because of Chris’ heroic actions,” Nigro said.

Just two days before, Nigro had spoken at a celebration of life in Manhattan for Capt. Christopher “Tripp” Zanetis, 37, an FDNY fire marshal from Long Island City, Queens, and a 106th Rescue Wing member who died with Raguso.

Also on Thursday, fellow 106th member Tech. Sgt. Dashan J. Briggs, 30, of Port Jefferson Station, was buried at Calverton after a funeral at the Westhampton Beach firehouse. A funeral for the fourth fallen member of the 106th, Capt. Andreas B. O’Keeffe, 37, of Center Moriches, will be held in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, said his father, Shan O’Keeffe.