March 16--Two of New York's Bravest -- who put their lives on the line for their city and country -- were among the seven service members killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq.
FDNY Lt. Christopher Raguso, 39, and Fire Marshal Christopher "Tripp" Zanetis, 37, were aboard the HH-60 Pave Hawk when it hit a power line and went down near the Syrian border Thursday, officials said.
"They are truly two of New York City's bravest -- running into danger to protect and defend others, both in New York City and in combat overseas," Mayor de Blasio said.
Zanetis was previously hailed a hero in the pages of the Daily News for his exploits while deployed in Afghanistan with the New York Air National Guard.
Zanetis was among a team of four FDNY firefighters credited with saving nearly 100 lives in a two-month stretch with the 101st Rescue Squadron in 2012.
A graduate of New York University and Stanford Law School, Zanetis was on unpaid leave pursuing a law career, sources said.
"He was operating at genius level," a friend of Zanetis' told The News. "He was the future of this country. He was really a true American hero."
The Long Island-based Raguso, when he wasn't fighting blazes in the city, worked as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown of Commack.
Raguso was a "great American patriot, friend and brother," the Commack Fire Department said. "Chris was always there to help anyone with anything, he would never say no."
A married father of two girls ages 5 and 6, the 13-year FDNY vet was cited for bravery and life-saving rescues a total of six times.
"This is the saddest moment in my life," Raguso's godmother Joanna Potenza wrote on Facebook. "No words can express how much my heart is broken."
The pair were members of the 106th Rescue Wing of the Air National Guard based in Suffolk County's Westhampton Beach.
The military has launched an investigation into the accident near the western city of al-Qaim.
The crash "does not appear to be a result of enemy activity," officials said.
Zanetis was pursuing a degree at NYU when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in 2001, fueling his desire to become a member of the FDNY.
"Talk is a lot of hot air, and action is doing something about it," he told The News in 2012.
Zanetis joined the department in Sept. 2004 and was assigned to Ladder Co. 11 in the lower East Side.
He served in the FDNY for some 13 years before pursuing his law degree at Stanford. He was most recently working at the New York law firm Debevoise & Plimpton.
Born in Indiana, Zanetis first caught the firefighter bug as a kid growing up in the town of Carmel.
"He used to listen on the internet to the FDNY chatter," his friend said. "He longed to be a fireman."
During his Afghanistan tour, Zanetis and his fellow smoke-eaters designed living quarters to mimic a firehouse, including the 12-hour shift rotations.
"The same rules apply here as they did at home," Zanetis, who completed a tour in Iraq in the months before he deployed to Afghanistan, told The News.
"(At the firehouse), if you're not on the rig, you're probably going to get left behind. ... You don't want to be the last one on the truck, and you don't want to be the last one on the aircraft."
The names of the other service members killed in the crash were not available.
"This tragedy reminds us of the risks our men and women face every day in service of our nations," said Army Brig. Gen. Jonathan P. Braga.
With Jessica Schladebeck
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