411 New York

NEW YORK (OCN) — On Tuesday, August 2, 2005, NYPD Officer James D. McNaughton, became the first New York City cop to be killed in Iraq.

In his honor for his service in New York and Iraq, a 7 hour tribute will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, January 17, 2009 at Mulcahy’s of Wantagh – Pub and Concert Hall located at 3232 Railroad Avenue.

Mulcahy’s was also used in 2008 on August 14th for a fundraiser to benefit New York Police Officer Kenneth Baribault and his son Christopher. For more information, see Vinny Zecca message on Officer McNaughton.

I am writing to you on behalf of the friends and family of James D. McNaughton, a New York City Police Officer who was killed in Iraq. On August 2nd, 2005, while training an Iraqi officer up in a tower, James or “Jimmy” as his friends knew him, was hit by a sniper. Jimmy was a Staff Sergeant with the Army Reserve’s 306th Military Police Battalion, based out of Uniondale, Long Island. Coming from a family of police officers, he joined the NYPD a little over 7 years ago as a member of the first Police Academy class to graduate after 9/11. He was assigned to Transit Bureau, District 2 in Lower Manhattan. He reported for duty in the Army on October 4th, 2002. James McNaughton, 27 was the first New York City Cop to give his life for his country as a soldier in the line of duty while serving in Iraq.

Source: IraqWarHeroes.org

I have known Jimmy since we were 8 years old. He is one of my best friends and the most loyal person I have ever met. Most of the stories that have been written or told about Jimmy have spoken of how great a hero he was and how dedicated he was to this country and that he had Red, White and Blue in his blood. This is all indeed very true. However, what usually goes unwritten and untold is how great of a person and friend to so many of us Jimmy was. The heroism that Jimmy showed as a police officer and a soldier for this country was equaled by his loyalty and dedication to his friends. Jimmy lived for this country for as long as I can remember and he died defending the freedoms that we enjoy everyday.

Over the past 3 years, we have held a benefit/fundraiser event in honor of Jimmy’s memory. We have been overwhelmed on how successful this event has been over the past 3 years and this is due to the large amount of you guys who have helped out so much by attending, donating and participating in as many ways as possible. This year we hope that it is no different and with all of your help we can make this event the biggest and best one to date.

Once again, the event will take place at Mulcahy’s Pub and Music Hall in Wantagh, New York, on Saturday January 17th, 2009. The lineup of entertainment and festivities that we have planned so far this year is by far the best to date. The New York Shields, Pipes & Drums Band will be back for another year which is sure to be an amazing performance. There will be 2 live bands performing – Tom McGuire, formerly of Maniac will be returning by popular demand, for his 4th straight year. He has put on such an incredible acoustic performance the past few years and has gone well out of his way to help make this event such a great day. We are also very pleased to announce that Big Shot will be performing this year. If you couldn’t make it to the “Last Play at Shea” this past summer, then Big Shot is the band to see if you want the closest thing to a Billy Joel concert. They are one of the best performing live rock bands today and will be sure to amaze everyone in attendance. If you are a fan of comedy, then this will be a great day for you. There will be very special appearances by comedians Colin Quinn, the Reverend Bob Levy, and just added yesterday – Sal “The Stockbroker” Governale. Colin Quinn should not need any introduction as he has been an extremely successful comic and actor and will be sure to make us all laugh. The Reverend Bob Levy is one of the funniest, most innovative comedians around today. He is a frequent guest and fan favorite of The Howard Stern Show, and is absolutely hilarious. Sal “The Stockbroker” Governale is a writer and producer on The Howard Stern show and is known for prank phone calls and his ability to create comedic parodies. With all of this and much more, this year’s event is shaping up to be amazing.

So with all of that being said, once again, I would like to extend this invitation to all of you and your family, friends, co-workers, etc. With Jimmy’s extremely large group of friends and family, there will also be a tremendous amount of police officers, military, troopers, etc. that will be on hand to honor Jimmy. I would like to ask all of you as friends, family, friends of friends, or just someone who supports our country and our troops who are all making the ultimate sacrifice for us, to help give back to them and help support this great cause.

If you are interested or have any type of questions, please contact me at vzecca1@yahoo.com or at (631)745-3813. I will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

At last year’s event we had a turnout of close to 800 people and raised a total of close to $30,000, in which all proceeds were donated to the Wounded Warriors Project as well as the James McNaughton Foundation. The Wounded Warriors Project seeks to assist those men and women of our armed forces who have been severely injured during the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations around the world. The James McNaughton Foundation helps provide scholarships to men and women who serve in the NYPD. Along with those two charities, the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund will be participating as well this year. The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund has provided more than $65 million in support for the families of military personnel lost in service to our nation, and for severely wounded military personnel and veterans.

Below are a few links with some further background on James McNaughton, as well as some with photos from the first 3 years of this event.

Sincerely,

Vinny Zecca
631-745-3813

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