Funeral for FDNY firefighter, Marine killed in Afghanistan

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FDNY Firefighter and Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman remembered at his funeral at St. Thomas Church in Manhattan. (NYC Mayor's Office)

A U.S. Marine killed in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan was honored by mourners from across the country at his funeral in New York City where he was also a decorated firefighter.

Thousands of firefighters and other responders saluted the casket of Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman. It was carried from atop a fire engine caisson in the Bronx to St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue on Friday.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the decorated firefighter "represented the very best of us."

The 43-year-old father of three young daughters died on April 8 near Bagram Airfield U.S military base. Two other members of Slutman's Massachusetts-based Marine Reserve unit also were killed.

Slutman was a 15-year veteran of FDNY Engine 46 Ladder 27 in the Bronx.

The native of Newark, Delaware, also had served as a firefighter in Maryland

With the Associated Press