Dashan J. Briggs of Port Jefferson Station, formerly of Riverhead, died in Iraq during a military operation on March 15. He was 30 years old.
Briggs, a staff sergeant in the New York Air National Guard 106th Rescue Wing, was killed in a military helicopter crash in western Iraq, along with six other men.
He was born in Riverhead on Dec. 28, 1987, the son of Gregory Briggs Sr. and Sharon Young.
A 2007 graduate of Riverhead High School, where he played varsity football and lacrosse, Briggs enlisted shortly after graduation. He was remembered by varsity head coach Leif Shay as “a true leader” and “an incredible young man.”
Briggs was promoted posthumously to the rank of technical sergeant.
He is survived by his wife Rebecca; his son Jayden and daughter Ava; his grandparents Eli and Rose Briggs; his grandmother, Gloria Smith; his brother Gregory Briggs Jr.; his sisters Heather Young and Daja Young; and his father-in-law and mother-in-law Robert and Meridele Karen.
Visitation will take place at the Westhampton Beach Volunteer Fire Department on Wednesday, March 28, from 2 to 4:30 and 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
A funeral service will be held at the department on Thursday, March 29 at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at Calverton National Cemetery.
Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Tuthill-Mangano Funeral Home in Riverhead.