Bodies of airmen killed in Iraq copter crash return to LI

The bodies of three of the four members of a Long Island-based Air National Guard unit killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq this month arrived home Tuesday, honored during a somber procession in Westhampton Beach involving family members and fellow reservists.

The ceremony at Francis S. Gabreski Airport was the first of a series of services, wakes and funerals scheduled on and around Long Island this week to remember the fallen airmen.

Hundreds of uniformed base personnel stood at attention as the large military cargo plane landed and taxied toward a section of the tarmac for a formal rite called a Dignified Transfer Ceremony.

The three — Master Sgt. Christopher Raguso, 39, of Commack; Tech. Sgt. Dashan J. Briggs, 30, of Port Jefferson Station; and Capt. Christopher “Tripp” Zanetis, 37, of Long Island City, Queens — were members of the 106th Rescue Wing, killed March 15 in a helicopter crash in Iraq.

The body of the fourth, Capt. Andreas B. O’Keeffe, 37, of Center Moriches, was to be taken to Florida.

The flag-draped coffins of Raguso and Zanetis were loaded into FDNY ambulances while Briggs’ body was put in a black hearse. Raguso was a 13-year veteran of the FDNY stationed in Queens, while Zanetis was on leave from the city firefighter corps as he pursued a legal career. Briggs served full time with the 106th.

Col. Michael Bank Jr., commander of the 106th, said the fallen aircrews had stepped away from the comfort of civilian life and put themselves in harm’s way to protect all Americans.

“We shall never forget the sacrifice of these citizen soldiers; our guardians and the loved ones they left behind,” Bank said during a closed ceremony at the Westhampton Beach airport.

“They were firefighters, attorneys, pilots, special mission aviators, guardsmen,” he said. “They were sons, beloved uncles, husbands, fathers and friends. They served a nation, state and community with integrity and excellence.”

Outside Gabreski, members of the Westhampton Beach Volunteer Fire Department erected a large flag across the entrance to the base, while retired FDNY members and neighbors of the airmen lined the streets to pay their respects.

John Neely, of the Westhampton Beach Fire Police, said the services remind Americans that there are still U.S. soldiers in harm’s way throughout the world. “People forget these men were over there,” he said.

Several dozen Patriot Guard Riders and Fire Riders of the FDNY gathered in a Gabreski parking lot preparing to escort the bodies of the fallen as they were taken from the base after the ceremony.

“They were brothers,” said one of the riders, Bill Steinbuch. “I’m a veteran. It’s respect.”

Outside the Clayton Funeral Home in Kings Park, members of numerous fire departments and law-enforcement agencies lined Indian Head Road ahead of the arrival of Raguso’s body.

As the hearse drove by at 3 p.m., followed by a procession of motorcycles, firefighters from nearly a dozen departments stood in salute.

Dennis Daly, a Commack resident, said he felt it was important to recognize the sacrifice of a community member. Daly held a large blanket that read “God Bless America.”

“He’s a member of the community and a neighbor and he died overseas,” Daly said of Raguso. “I was a kid that worried about my father being sent to Vietnam. This man was sent as a reservist, and his death has become a reality.”

Black and purple bunting was draped on firehouses in Commack, where Raguso had served as a lieutenant in the volunteer fire department, which he joined in 2000. He also was a lieutenant in the FDNY.

“Let’s everyone keep them in their prayers,” said Commack Fire Commissioner Patrick Fazio. “It’s a tough day, not only for Commack, but for America.”

Briggs’ body was brought to the Tuthill-Mangano Funeral Home in Riverhead, said an official with the Westhampton Beach Volunteer Fire Department, which is hosting services for the father of two.

Zanetis’ body received a full FDNY escort as it was taken to the Provenzano Lanza funeral home in Manhattan. His grief-stricken family looked on in silence on as his coffin was removed from the ambulance. Some placed their hands over their hearts.

“He was a guy about service,” said Joe Collins, an FDNY EMT. “He was an attorney. He was overseas. He was just a remarkable guy who was about service.”