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Lewis Street formally renamed in memory of Tech. Sgt. Dashan Briggs

American flags lined the front of Eli and Rose Briggs’ Riverhead home Saturday morning as family and friends gathered in their front yard. The group then walked a few houses down for a ceremony to formally rename the road in memory of Dashan Briggs, the fallen airman who grew up on the street with his grandparents.

Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith led a brief ceremony at the corner of the former Lewis Street and Doris Avenue, the same spot where they gathered more than a year earlier. At that time, in May 2018, the street received an honorary designation of “Tech. Sgt. Dashan J. Briggs Way.”

Now the street will permanently be named in memory of Tech. Sgt. Briggs, who died in March 2018 while serving in Iraq.

“I’m so glad we’re here to honor him,” Mr. Briggs said during the ceremony. “We owe it all to him.”

Tech. Sgt. Briggs’ wife, Rebecca, and children, Jayden and Ava, looked on as Mr. Briggs thanked everyone for their support.

Ms. Jens-Smith said Riverhead will never forget the sacrifice of Tech. Sgt. Briggs, who served in the 106th Rescue Wing.

“We will never forget the difficult choices he made when he decided to serve our country,” she said. “We will never forget the love Dashan had for his family. We will never forget the grief and pain that Dashan Briggs’ family and friends have experienced.”

Councilwomen Jodi Giglio and Catherine Kent also spoke at the ceremony.

“I’m so happy that the community came together,” Ms. Giglio said. “It’s not an easy thing to do to change a street name. This community really came together.”

Ms. Kent added: “Please know in a small gesture on behalf of the town, that we will never forget, we will always honor Dashan’s life and what he gave to our country.”

Top photo caption: The Briggs family joins Riverhead Town Board members. (Credit: Joe Werkmeister)

See more photos:

Rose Briggs, center, watches the ceremony.
Eli Briggs speaks to the audience with Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith, left, and Councilwoman Jodi Giglo.
American flags in front of the Briggs home.
Family members walk from the Briggs’ home to the ceremony.
The street sign now just says “Tech. Sgt. Dashan J. Briggs Way.”

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