New 'Run For Briggs' Will Raise Funds To Help Youth On LI

Riverhead NY

28 July, 2021

9:12 PM

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RIVERHEAD, NY — A new foundation to help youth will honor the life of a hero airman who lost his life in a 2018 crash. The new Dashan J. Briggs Memorial Foundation was organized to keep the memory of Tech Sgt. Dashan Briggs alive; he and six other members of the 106th Rescue Wing were lost during their mission in Al-Qa'im, Iraq. Briggs, 30, was one of four heroes from the NY Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing, located at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, who died in the tragic crash that killed seven airmen. Since his death, scores have continued to honor Briggs; Riverhead Town dedicated a street to him, the street where he grew up. On Wednesday, after a record amount of funding was raised from the 2020 Virtual Suffolk County Marathon, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced that nearly $130,000 will be distributed to 21 local organizations to support and serve the county's more than 90,000 veterans. Bellone also announced the brand-new "Run For Briggs 5K" to honor Tech Sgt. Briggs, which was added to the Suffolk County Veterans Run Series. The Suffolk County Veterans Runs Series offers nine runs and serves as an opportunity for local veterans and residents to participate in local races and walks, including the Suffolk County Marathon & Half Marathon, while helping to raise additional funds for local veteran service groups, Bellone said. Briggs, Bellone said, "is an American hero and died in service to our country. Thank you for all you do to not only honor his legacy but to help support veterans," Bellone said to Briggs' wife Rebecca. At the event, Mike Haynes, chief government affairs officer for Long Island Cares, also recognized Rebecca. "This one, just like her husband, is a hero," he said. "She took a very tough time and she used that as a motivation to do great work." The new Dashan J. Briggs Memorial Foundation, he said, will "empower Long Island children" and grant them access to life skills so that they will grow self-sufficient. "It's the most fitting tribute you can give to your hero husband." Rebecca said she was surprised and honored to receive a donation from philanthropist Steve Castleton, who also donated a check to Long Island Cares. "My husband loved to help people, in the Air Force or with friends and family," she said. "The Dashan J. Brigg Memorial Foundation will help our youth and teach them life skills such as car maintenance, finance, cooking." Funds will also be utilized for a scholarship in her husband's name at Riverhead High School and possibly Comsewogue High School, she said. The virtual 5K "Run For Briggs" will take place Aug. 13 to 15, she said. "I hope it's a great success and will help to keep my husband's memory alive," she said. To sign up for the event, click here. Tech Sgt. Dashan J. Briggs / Lisa Finn A 2007 graduate of Riverhead High School, Tech Sgt. Briggs grew up on Lewis Street with his grandparents. In 2010, Tech. Sgt. Briggs joined the Air National Guard 106th Rescue Wing and was deployed to Afghanistan as a munitions system specialist. The school where he left a long legacy retired Briggs' football jersey; while attending Riverhead High School, he was a standout football player and member of the lacrosse team, the district said. At his funeral, inside the firehouse in Westhampton Beach, it was standing room only: Briggs' coffin was draped with an American flag; a beautiful American flag created with red, white and blue flowers also stood alongside, a testament to his patriotism, devotion and dedication.Another spray of flowers featured the heartfelt words, "These things we do, that others may live." Lieutenant Colonel Rodney Lisec, HH-60G Pavehawk helicopter pilot from the 106th Rescue Wing of the New York Air National Guard, shared his memories of Briggs, intertwining humor and heart as he told a story about how Briggs, who came to the 106th as an ammunitions specialist, brought a fierce desire to serve coupled with a deeply ingrained work ethic. But there was only one problem — Briggs didn't know how to swim. Undaunted, he took Safety Swim classes with toddlers, never wavering in his dedication. "Dashan is my brother," he said. His tenacity led to great success; Briggs had accrued the highest number of flying hours and was known for his volunteerism and ever-willingness to lend a hand."This was a very selfless man," he said. "Integrity was just a part of his life." Next, Briggs' high school friend Andre Galarza remembered Dashan, who graduated Riverhead High School in 2007, as "cool," having a variety of cars including a Range Rover and an El Dorado. The pair remained friends even though they attended different colleges and later, bonded again when they worked together, caring for disabled adults — and sharing an apartment for a time in Bellport. Smiling, Galarza said his friend always kept his cars immaculate. He, too, referenced Briggs' inability to swim and said he'd once saved him from the ocean. "I always looked up to him," Galarza said, even more so when Briggs joined the Air Force to serve the nation. "He was a straight up guy, a gentleman, a family guy. Brother, I'll miss you so much." Galarza said when he heard the news of the crash, he didn't want to believe it could be true, kept praying he'd hear that his lifetime friend had somehow jumped to safety. And then, he said, "I thought of Rebecca and the babies," Briggs' small children Jayden and Ava; the three live in Port Jefferson Station. "Dashan, I'll miss you. I love you, brother," he said. Eli Briggs, Dashan's grandfather, then spoke movingly, with love and laughter, about the young man who'd illuminated his life. "He liked to laugh and have fun," Briggs said. His grandson was his fishing buddy, he said, but the pair more often than not ended up towing cars for people whose vehicles had gotten stuck in the sand. In fact, Briggs said, Dashan often teased him about his own truck, urging him to get a newer model. He thanked Sharon Young and his son Gregory Briggs, Dashan's parents, "for bringing Dashan into my life." He also spoke lovingly to Briggs' widow Rebecca. "Dashan picked a lovely wife," he said. His grandson, he said, was "a good man, a loving man. Dashan lived the life he wanted to live, and I supported him in that all the way," he said, urging the crowd, "Don't give up on life." Having lost his own father at just two-and-a-half years old, Briggs vowed that the entire family would join together to help raise the babies his grandson left behind. "He's in our hearts," he said.