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Tripp Zanetis (Courtesy of the FDNY)[/caption] A litigation associate at Debevise & Plimpton in New York was one of seven soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq on March 15. Christopher Tripp Zanetis, known to friends and colleagues by his middle name, perished when a HH-60 Pave Hawk carrying him and six other airmen crashed along the Iraq-Syria border after hitting a power line. U.S. military officials said that Iraqi security forces quickly reached the crash site. The accident, which military officials said was not a result of enemy fire during a combat mission, occurred near the western Iraqi town of Al-Qa’im, where U.S. forces operate a logistics center and resupply base, according to news reports. Al-Qa’im was the last stronghold of ISIS in Iraq until pro-government forces backed by the U.S. recaptured it from the extremist group late last year. “This tragedy reminds us of the risks our men and women face every day in service of our nations,” said a statement by Brig. Gen. Jonathan Braga, director of operations for the U.S.-led coalition fighting in Iraq and Syria. Zanetis, 37, passed the New York bar exam last year and started working at Debevoise in the fall, according to his profile on professional networking website LinkedIn, which also notes his role as a fire marshal in the New York City Fire Department and as a captain in the 106th Rescue Wing of the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a Pave Hawk combat search and rescue helicopter pilot. The Pave Hawk is frequently used for the insertion and extraction of special forces personnel. “We are deeply saddened to learn that our colleague Tripp Zanetis was lost in Thursday’s U.S. military helicopter crash in Iraq,” Debevoise said in a statement. “He was an exceptional person and will be greatly missed by his many friends and colleagues in the firm. Our thoughts and prayers are with Tripp’s family.” Zanetis graduated last year from Stanford Law School, which also issued a statement mourning his loss. “Zanetis was a beloved student, friend and community member here at Stanford Law School and will be deeply missed,” said M. Elizabeth Magill, dean of the law school of the law school where Zanetis enrolled in August 2014. “We are heartbroken at his loss. Our thoughts are with his family and with all who knew and loved him. He was one of the most extraordinary students I had the privilege of knowing, and he will be long remembered in the institution.” At the time of his death, Zanetis was on an unpaid leave of absence from the FDNY to pursue a legal career, according to news reports, some of which noted that he had began his third tour in Iraq in mid-January. Also killed in the helicopter crash was FDNY Lt. Christopher Raguso, 39. Both men were members of the New York Air National Guard based out of Westhampton Beach, New York. “They are truly two of New York City’s bravest—running into danger to protect and defend others, both in New York City and in combat areas,” said a statement from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest condolences to their families, loved ones and fellow service members and FDNY members.” Zanetis himself was not a native New Yorker, having been born and raised in Indiana, but he attended New York University at the time of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, where he helped first responders at Ground Zero in downtown Manhattan. After graduation, Zanetis joined the FDNY in 2003. He spent more than eight years as a firefighter, receiving accolades in 2012 for being one of four FDNY friends and airmen to serve in Afghanistan with the New York Air National Guard. In 2013, Zanetis was promoted to fire marshal, where he began investigating arsons with the FDNY’s Bureau of Fire Investigation in Brooklyn. “[Tripp] was operating at genius level,” an unnamed friend told the New York Daily News. “He was the future of this country. He was really a true American hero.” Newsday reported that Zanetis took leave from the FDNY in order to pursue a law degree and follow in the footsteps of his father, John Zanetis Jr., a now retired lawyer from the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, according to the Indiana Roll of Attorneys. The elder Zanetis, a former director and co-founder of Capstone Capital Consulting LLC, told the New York Post that his son loved rescuing people and simply wanted to be of service, whether it was as a firefighter, soldier or lawyer. “They were flying pretty low to avoid being picked up by radar, somehow the rotors got hit by power lines,” John Zanetis said to the Post. “That’s the danger of flying at night. Instruments don’t pick up the power lines.” John Zanetis told the newspaper about another incident in Iraq during a previous tour when it was his son in need of rescuing, caught in a crossfire while trying to bring a victim aboard his rescue helicopter. Zanetis’ unit was saved when a British Army detachment led by Prince Harry swooped in to obliterate the enemy, said John Zanetis, noting that his son later scored a picture with the royal at a New Year’s party. The younger Zanetis, a resident of Long Island City, Queens, was also a CrossFit trainer and a contributor to the national security website Just Security. In one of his last posts on social media, from March 13, Zanetis retweeted a statement from Sen. John McCain about leadership changes made by the Trump administration at the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Department of State. As of Saturday afternoon, two of the other airmen killed in the crash near Al-Qa’im had been identified as Dashan Briggs of Riverhead, New York, and Carl Enis of Pinecrest, Florida. The cause of the accident remains under investigation. The death of Zanetis comes more than a year after lawyer-turned-FDNY firefighter Michael Fahy, a former Proskauer Rose associate killed in late 2016 while battling a blaze in the Bronx. Fahy’s widow, Fiona Brett, is a former pro bono counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in New York. Zanetis’ family said he was single at the time of his death.