Final NYC 9/11 Firefighter Laid to Rest
N E W Y O R K, Sept. 9 -- The last of the 343 New York City firefighters killed in the World Trade Center attacks has been laid to rest.
Michael Ragusa's loved ones waited as long as they could to celebrate the young firefighter's life.
Monday's ceremony became the final funeral for those firefighters killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
As other families held funerals and memorials for lost firefighters, the Ragusas waited because they desperately wanted to bury the young Brooklynfirefighter's remains.
The Ragusas always knew their chances were slim. The remains of less than half of all those who perished in the New York attacks on Sept. 11 were identified by DNA.
Michael’s Gift
Just as the Ragusas felt hope was running out, they discovered that Michael's charity to others would touch them in a way they could have never predicted.
The Ragusas discovered the 29-year-old firefighter had donated blood to a bone marrow center before he died. His donation was meant to help someone else's life and it ended up helping his family celebrate his.
In the end, a tiny amount of Michael's blood allowed the Ragusa family to move forward and finally say goodbye.
"He left behind life, a tiny vial of blood that flowed within him when he was alive," said Dee Ragusa, Michael's mother, at his funeral. "How he must have loved us— how proud we are to call him our son."
Ragusa's casket contained the vial, his uniform and other personal mementos his mother believes he would have wanted to be buried with.
"It took two years, but you get realistic," Dee Ragusa said on ABCNEWS' Good Morning Ameirca. "We we were so blessed to have that vial of blood … the identifications are winding down," she said.
The Last Goodbye
The funeral for Ragusa, of Engine Co. 279, was held in Bergen Beach, the Brooklyn neighborhood where he was born and raised. Bagpipers played "Amazing Grace" and firefighters in dress uniform saluted the fire truck carrying his coffin as it made its way to the church.
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