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Photos: 106th Rescue Wing brings Tech. Sgt. Briggs, fellow airmen home

By Taylor K. Vecsey

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY – A C-17 Globemaster from the 105th Airlift Wing performs a low-level flyover prior to a dignified transfer of the repatriated remains of three Airmen from 101st Rescue Squadron back to F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base March 27, 2018. The arrival and brief ceremony was held for Major Christopher T. Zanetis, a pilot, Master Sgt. Christopher J. Raguso and Tech. Sgt. Dashan J. Briggs, both special missions aviation specialists, who were all killed when their HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crashed along the Iraq-Syria border near the city of Al-Qa’im.

The bodies of three members of the 106th Rescue Wing, including Tech. Sgt. Dashan Briggs, a Riverhead native, arrived back home on the East End in a service at the base at Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach Tuesday afternoon.

U.S. Air Force Honor Guard members from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst performed a dignified transfer of the repatriated remains of the 30-year-old special missions aviation specialist who graduated from Riverhead High School.

He was one of four members of the 101st Rescue Squadron who died when their HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crashed along the Iraq-Syria border near the city of Al-Qa’im on March 15.

Also arriving home to the 106th Tuesday was Maj. Christopher T. Zanetis of Long Island City, a HH-60 rescue pilot and Master Sgt. Christopher J. Raguso of Commack, a HH-60 rescue pilot.

Airmen from the 106th Rescue Wing perform a dignified transfer of the repatriated remains of Tech. Sgt. Dashan Briggs on Tuesday. (Credit: New York National Guard)

A dignified arrival for Capt. Andreas O’Keeffe, who lived in Center Moriches, will be held at a later date in Tampa, Fl., where his family lives.

The fallen service members arrived in the United States last week at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware before Tuesday’s dignified arrival in Westhampton Beach.

Three other service members were killed in the crash. They were Master Sgt. William Posch, 36, of Indialantic, Fla.; Staff Sgt. Carl Enis, 31, of Tallahassee, Fla.; and Capt. Mark Weber, 29, of Colorado Springs, Colo.

New York Air National Guard Col. Michael Banks, the commander of the 106th Rescue Wing, spoke to the assembled airmen and families, before the fallen members were taken in processions to funeral homes and families in anticipation of their funerals.

Airmen assigned to the 106th Rescue Wing, New York Air National Guard, practice prior to a dignified transfer of remains and brief ceremony. (Credit: New York National Guard)

The Defense Visual Information Distribution Service posted a video of the service.

Services for Tech. Sgt. Briggs, who was posthumously promoted from staff sergeant, begin Wednesday. Visiting hour will be held at the Westhampton Beach Volunteer Fire Department from 2 to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. A service will be held Thursday at 10 a.m. also at the Westhampton Beach Volunteer Fire Department. Interment will follow at Calverton National Cemetery.

A C-17 Globemaster from the 105th Airlift Wing performs a low-level flyover prior to the ceremony. (Credit: New York National Guard)
U.S. Air Force Honor Guard members carry the coffin of Maj. Christopher T. Zanetis, 37 of Long Island, a pilot from 101st Rescue Squadron. (Credit: New York National Guard)
Aircraft from the 101st and 102nd Rescue Squadrons perform a low level flyby over Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhampton Beach shortly before landing for a dignified transfer of the repatriated remains of three airmen. (Credit: New York National Guard)
A large police motorcycle escort from the Suffolk County Police Department leads the way following the dignified transfer of three airmen from 101st Rescue Squadron. (Credit: New York National Guard)
Processions for the three airmen included the hanging of a large American Flag overhead. (Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Julio A. Olivencia Jr.)

Top photo caption: U.S. Air Force Honor Guard members from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst performed a dignified transfer of the repatriated remains of Tech. Sgt. Dashan Briggs at the F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base on Tuesday. (Photo credit: New York National Guard)

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