Army Spc. Wai Lwin
Wai Lwin became an American citizen just last year, but he had dreamed for years of joining the U.S. military. As a young teen, he fashioned a dog-tag replica from paper and wrote on it in black ink: "Wai Lwin, General of the U.S. Eagle Squadron."
"It was his wish to join the military since he was very young," said his father, Thein Zaw Lwin.
Wai Lwin, 27, of New York was killed March 2 when an explosive detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad. He was based in New York.
Born in Burma, Lwin went to high school in New York and was a fan of American music, including Aerosmith and Jon Bon Jovi. He liked Lionel Ritchie so much that he recorded himself singing "Stuck on You" in a makeshift sound studio.
Lwin earned his GED and worked at a restaurant and for a Manhattan jeweler before enlisting in March 2003.
The week before he died, Lwin turned down a two-week leave to go to his grandfather's funeral in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. He was carrying photographs of Buddhist shrines in that country at the time of his death.
_______________________________________________________
New York Daily News (NY) - March 13, 2005
Wai Lwin : QUEENS WAR HERO GIVEN SAD FAREWELL
FIVE BUDDHIST MONKS in saffron-colored robes chanted alongside a full honor guard from the Army National Guard's 69th Infantry Regiment yesterday at a somber funeral for a Queens soldier killed in Iraq.
Spec. Wai Lwin's life was tragically cut short 10 days earlier when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee. He was killed alongside his friend and fellow Guardsman, Spec. Azhar Ali, of Flushing. Both men were 27.
"He was probably the purest-hearted person that I know," said his heartbroken friend Eddie Choi, 24, who knew Lwin, an immigrant from Myanmar, since they attended Benjamin Cardozo High School.
"It was a shame, but at least he died honorably."
Yesterday morning, 200 friends and family members of Lwin gathered at Lloyd Funeral Home in Bayside to pay their final respects in a tribute that highlighted the many facets of his life - his Buddhist roots, his love of America and his pride in being a member of the "Fighting 69th" from Manhattan.
Next to his open coffin, where Lwin's body lay in full-dress uniform, was a framed document posthumously declaring him a U.S. citizen. Around the plaque were snapshots of Lwin - in his fatigues holding a firearm, smiling beneath the Statue of Liberty and donning monk's robes.
Lwin was laid to rest at Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn.
Among those who came to pay their respects yesterday were Ali's brothers and uncles, who are now making funeral arrangements of their own.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) helped secure passports and visas for Ali's parents, who live in Pakistan, to come to New York this week to bury their son.
Just after Lwin's death, his family members, who live in Douglaston, remembered the young man as a devoted son who loved to sing - especially Lionel Richie ballads - and dreamed of trying out for TV's "American Idol."
"He's a good guy," his father, Zaw Lwin, said last week. "He was a hero to my family."
Wai Lwin became an American citizen just last year, but he had dreamed for years of joining the U.S. military. As a young teen, he fashioned a dog-tag replica from paper and wrote on it in black ink: "Wai Lwin, General of the U.S. Eagle Squadron."
"It was his wish to join the military since he was very young," said his father, Thein Zaw Lwin.
Wai Lwin, 27, of New York was killed March 2 when an explosive detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad. He was based in New York.
Born in Burma, Lwin went to high school in New York and was a fan of American music, including Aerosmith and Jon Bon Jovi. He liked Lionel Ritchie so much that he recorded himself singing "Stuck on You" in a makeshift sound studio.
Lwin earned his GED and worked at a restaurant and for a Manhattan jeweler before enlisting in March 2003.
The week before he died, Lwin turned down a two-week leave to go to his grandfather's funeral in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. He was carrying photographs of Buddhist shrines in that country at the time of his death.
_______________________________________________________
New York Daily News (NY) - March 13, 2005
Wai Lwin : QUEENS WAR HERO GIVEN SAD FAREWELL
FIVE BUDDHIST MONKS in saffron-colored robes chanted alongside a full honor guard from the Army National Guard's 69th Infantry Regiment yesterday at a somber funeral for a Queens soldier killed in Iraq.
Spec. Wai Lwin's life was tragically cut short 10 days earlier when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee. He was killed alongside his friend and fellow Guardsman, Spec. Azhar Ali, of Flushing. Both men were 27.
"He was probably the purest-hearted person that I know," said his heartbroken friend Eddie Choi, 24, who knew Lwin, an immigrant from Myanmar, since they attended Benjamin Cardozo High School.
"It was a shame, but at least he died honorably."
Yesterday morning, 200 friends and family members of Lwin gathered at Lloyd Funeral Home in Bayside to pay their final respects in a tribute that highlighted the many facets of his life - his Buddhist roots, his love of America and his pride in being a member of the "Fighting 69th" from Manhattan.
Next to his open coffin, where Lwin's body lay in full-dress uniform, was a framed document posthumously declaring him a U.S. citizen. Around the plaque were snapshots of Lwin - in his fatigues holding a firearm, smiling beneath the Statue of Liberty and donning monk's robes.
Lwin was laid to rest at Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn.
Among those who came to pay their respects yesterday were Ali's brothers and uncles, who are now making funeral arrangements of their own.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) helped secure passports and visas for Ali's parents, who live in Pakistan, to come to New York this week to bury their son.
Just after Lwin's death, his family members, who live in Douglaston, remembered the young man as a devoted son who loved to sing - especially Lionel Richie ballads - and dreamed of trying out for TV's "American Idol."
"He's a good guy," his father, Zaw Lwin, said last week. "He was a hero to my family."
Army Spc. Wai Lwin
Wai Lwin became an American citizen just last year, but he had dreamed for years of joining the U.S. military. As a young teen, he fashioned a dog-tag replica from paper and wrote on it in black ink: "Wai Lwin, General of the U.S. Eagle Squadron."
"It was his wish to join the military since he was very young," said his father, Thein Zaw Lwin.
Wai Lwin, 27, of New York was killed March 2 when an explosive detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad. He was based in New York.
Born in Burma, Lwin went to high school in New York and was a fan of American music, including Aerosmith and Jon Bon Jovi. He liked Lionel Ritchie so much that he recorded himself singing "Stuck on You" in a makeshift sound studio.
Lwin earned his GED and worked at a restaurant and for a Manhattan jeweler before enlisting in March 2003.
The week before he died, Lwin turned down a two-week leave to go to his grandfather's funeral in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. He was carrying photographs of Buddhist shrines in that country at the time of his death.
_______________________________________________________
New York Daily News (NY) - March 13, 2005
Wai Lwin : QUEENS WAR HERO GIVEN SAD FAREWELL
FIVE BUDDHIST MONKS in saffron-colored robes chanted alongside a full honor guard from the Army National Guard's 69th Infantry Regiment yesterday at a somber funeral for a Queens soldier killed in Iraq.
Spec. Wai Lwin's life was tragically cut short 10 days earlier when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee. He was killed alongside his friend and fellow Guardsman, Spec. Azhar Ali, of Flushing. Both men were 27.
"He was probably the purest-hearted person that I know," said his heartbroken friend Eddie Choi, 24, who knew Lwin, an immigrant from Myanmar, since they attended Benjamin Cardozo High School.
"It was a shame, but at least he died honorably."
Yesterday morning, 200 friends and family members of Lwin gathered at Lloyd Funeral Home in Bayside to pay their final respects in a tribute that highlighted the many facets of his life - his Buddhist roots, his love of America and his pride in being a member of the "Fighting 69th" from Manhattan.
Next to his open coffin, where Lwin's body lay in full-dress uniform, was a framed document posthumously declaring him a U.S. citizen. Around the plaque were snapshots of Lwin - in his fatigues holding a firearm, smiling beneath the Statue of Liberty and donning monk's robes.
Lwin was laid to rest at Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn.
Among those who came to pay their respects yesterday were Ali's brothers and uncles, who are now making funeral arrangements of their own.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) helped secure passports and visas for Ali's parents, who live in Pakistan, to come to New York this week to bury their son.
Just after Lwin's death, his family members, who live in Douglaston, remembered the young man as a devoted son who loved to sing - especially Lionel Richie ballads - and dreamed of trying out for TV's "American Idol."
"He's a good guy," his father, Zaw Lwin, said last week. "He was a hero to my family."
Wai Lwin became an American citizen just last year, but he had dreamed for years of joining the U.S. military. As a young teen, he fashioned a dog-tag replica from paper and wrote on it in black ink: "Wai Lwin, General of the U.S. Eagle Squadron."
"It was his wish to join the military since he was very young," said his father, Thein Zaw Lwin.
Wai Lwin, 27, of New York was killed March 2 when an explosive detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad. He was based in New York.
Born in Burma, Lwin went to high school in New York and was a fan of American music, including Aerosmith and Jon Bon Jovi. He liked Lionel Ritchie so much that he recorded himself singing "Stuck on You" in a makeshift sound studio.
Lwin earned his GED and worked at a restaurant and for a Manhattan jeweler before enlisting in March 2003.
The week before he died, Lwin turned down a two-week leave to go to his grandfather's funeral in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. He was carrying photographs of Buddhist shrines in that country at the time of his death.
_______________________________________________________
New York Daily News (NY) - March 13, 2005
Wai Lwin : QUEENS WAR HERO GIVEN SAD FAREWELL
FIVE BUDDHIST MONKS in saffron-colored robes chanted alongside a full honor guard from the Army National Guard's 69th Infantry Regiment yesterday at a somber funeral for a Queens soldier killed in Iraq.
Spec. Wai Lwin's life was tragically cut short 10 days earlier when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee. He was killed alongside his friend and fellow Guardsman, Spec. Azhar Ali, of Flushing. Both men were 27.
"He was probably the purest-hearted person that I know," said his heartbroken friend Eddie Choi, 24, who knew Lwin, an immigrant from Myanmar, since they attended Benjamin Cardozo High School.
"It was a shame, but at least he died honorably."
Yesterday morning, 200 friends and family members of Lwin gathered at Lloyd Funeral Home in Bayside to pay their final respects in a tribute that highlighted the many facets of his life - his Buddhist roots, his love of America and his pride in being a member of the "Fighting 69th" from Manhattan.
Next to his open coffin, where Lwin's body lay in full-dress uniform, was a framed document posthumously declaring him a U.S. citizen. Around the plaque were snapshots of Lwin - in his fatigues holding a firearm, smiling beneath the Statue of Liberty and donning monk's robes.
Lwin was laid to rest at Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn.
Among those who came to pay their respects yesterday were Ali's brothers and uncles, who are now making funeral arrangements of their own.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) helped secure passports and visas for Ali's parents, who live in Pakistan, to come to New York this week to bury their son.
Just after Lwin's death, his family members, who live in Douglaston, remembered the young man as a devoted son who loved to sing - especially Lionel Richie ballads - and dreamed of trying out for TV's "American Idol."
"He's a good guy," his father, Zaw Lwin, said last week. "He was a hero to my family."
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