Mourners Pay Tribute To Long Island Service Member Killed In Afghanistan
CORAM, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Mourners packed a church on Long Island Saturday to pay tribute to an Air National Guard member killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan.
Hundreds stood outside the New Beginnings Christian Center in Coram to say their final farewells to Staff Sgt. Louis Bonacasa.
Bonacasa, a Suffolk County native, was one of six Americans killed Dec. 21 when a suicide bomber rode a motorcycle into a group of U.S. soldiers outside Bagram Air Base.
"Very heartbroken; he was a good friend of mine – good friend, good buddy, good teammate, good soldier all around," Kevin Calvert, who deployed with Bonacasa in 2012, told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall.
Brianna Richardson could not get into the packed church, but still stood outside during the service.
"I wanted to come support our men, show our support for this sergeant who passed away," she told 1010 WINS' Darius Radzius.
Bonacasa's wife Deborah and 5-year-old daughter slowly followed his coffin into the Christian center. The little girl, named Lilianna, was dressed in pink with her mother's arms around her shoulders and held a stuffed animal for comfort.
At the funeral, Deborah read a poem as it was broadcast to an overflow crowd. She had written it to him a few years ago during a previous deployment overseas, her writing proclaiming her pride and pain, then and now, CBS2's Steve Langford reported.
"I'm so proud and honored to be your wife. Thank you for sharing with me this beautiful life," she said. "There are those that need your help more than ever. I know you'll make us proud throughout your endevour, but what about us? Your own family? I need my husband and Lilly needs her daddy."
Bonacasa's wife, no stranger to life in the military, met her husband when they were in boot camp together in Texas.
"I take comfort in knowing his passing wasn't in vain and that he fought doing what he loved," she said.
The two had been married for 11 years. His family said he was planning to retire after finishing his deployment, set for April of this year, and afterward he and his wife were to buy a home and expand their family.
Bonacasa's wife and sister later spoke at the service and even his daughter said a few words.
"I'm going to miss painting your nails,'' the little girl said.
Following the funeral, Bonacasa was buried at Calverton National Cemetery.
Another New Yorker was also killed in the suicide attack. Bonacasa's roommate, Sgt. Joseph Lemm, was an NYPD detective who also served in the Air National Guard.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, Mayor Bill de Blasio and others attended the funeral Mass for Lemm at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Wednesday morning. Cardinal Timothy Dolan presided over the service.
Lemm leaves behind a wife, teenage daughter and young son.
