Master Sgt. Christopher Raguso, nicknamed “Goose,” died just one day after celebrating his 39th birthday.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A final farewell was held Saturday for a national guardsman from Long Island who was killed in Iraq.
The wake for Master Sgt. Christopher Raguso was held Friday night at the Commack Fire Department.
Raguso, nicknamed “Goose,” died just one day after celebrating his 39th birthday. He was one of 7 airmen killed when their military helicopter crashed in Western Iraq.
The 13-year veteran of the FDNY spent the majority of his career at Engine 249/Ladder 113 in Brooklyn. He was also a special missions flight engineer and a volunteer firefighter in Commack, where he lived with his family.
Raguso previously deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, Texas, and the Caribbean for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Commack Fire Commissioner Pat Fazio said he hopes the other fallen soldiers are being recognized in the same way.
“Keep these families, all seven of these families, in your thoughts and prayers not just today but tomorrow and the future,” Fazio said. “Right now they’re surrounded by love and support, and in the days and the months and the years to come, they need to be reminded of it.”
Fazio said Raguso was posthumously promoted to chief of the Commack Fire Department.
The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation is raising money for the Raguso family. The FDNY Foundation also announced they’re be collecting scholarship money for his two young daughters.
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Raguso’s funeral will get underway at 11 am at Saint Joseph’s Church in Kings Park, Suffolk County.
