Category Archives: U.S. Air Force

Photo Gallery: Zanetis Memorial



An Air Force helicopter pilot, a New York City fire marshal and former fire fighter and a newly-minted attorney were commemorated with a memorial service in Washington Square Park and a celebration in a nearby NYU auditorium Thursday.  Remarkably it was one man who filled all of those professional roles, at the age of 37.

FDNY pallbearers carry Tripp Zanetis’s casket past saluting Air Force and FDNY members.

Christopher “Tripp” Zanetis died in Iraq, piloting a helicopter while on active duty with the 106th Rescue Wing of the Air National Guard.  He had been called up in January, a few months after graduating from Stanford Law School and joining the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton as an associate.  His professional career began with the New York City Fire Department, first as a fire fighter and then as a fire marshal.   Adding to the multiple intersecting layers of his life reflected in the memorial service, Zanetis graduated from NYU and worked in a nearby firehouse during his FDNY career.  Continue reading Photo Gallery: Zanetis Memorial