Fellow GIs mourn NYPD Guardsman who died in Afghanistan

**2 Blue 4 U** · 07-14-08, 02:33 PM

Fellow GIs mourn NYPD Guardsman who died in Afghanistan
BY JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Updated Monday, July 14th 2008, 11:07 AM

New York National Guard 1st Lt. (and NYPD Lt.) Daniel Farkas of Brooklyn

WASHINGTON — He was a fellow New York cop and a fellow soldier — but most of all, he was their buddy.

When New York National Guard 1st Lt. Daniel Farkas of Brooklyn — an NYPD lieutenant — died in Afghanistan on July 4, his fellow cops serving with him in that violent war zone were devastated that "Danny" was gone.

Speaking by phone from Kabul, Army Sgt. Edwin Mateo of Astoria, Queens, said, "I'm still dumbfounded by it."

Mateo, a New York City police detective in the Emergency Service Unit, said Farkas took care of him back home when he was detailed to Queens' 112th Precinct, where Farkas was assigned. In the Army, Farkas promoted his fellow cop and pinned on his sergeant's stripes.

"It was pure disbelief to hear what had happened to a friend of mine," added Army Sgt. Wellington Jimenez of East New York, Brooklyn, a Sing Sing correction officer. "From day one, we became the best of friends."

Jimenez said Farkas was an officer whose "prime concern was his soldiers."

At the time of his death, Farkas was based at a desolate camp near the Afghan-Pakistan border. He was not killed in combat, and the military is investigating his death.

Although saddened by his friend's death, Capt. Gurpreet Singh of Jamaica, Queens — an NYPD counterterrorism detective — joshed that the fact Farkas outranked him as a cop but not as an Army officer was the source of a running gag.

Singh recalled greeting Farkas as "Sir" when he was still in training to receive his Army commission. Fellow officers asked him why he gave a lowly cadet such respect, and Singh laughed, explaining, "That's my boss in the NYPD!"

Farkas was also a gym rat who encouraged overweight soldiers to drop the pounds.

On long runs, he would always be one of the first to finish — and then double back to cheer on the stragglers, said another heartbroken friend, Spec. Jose Miranda.

"There was one time I fell behind and he ran with me," the Bronx soldier said. "I wanted to give up, but he wouldn't let me."

Farkas' funeral is set for noon Monday at the East Midwood Jewish Center in Brooklyn. His family has declined to comment

I did not have the honor to work with his so I did not know his personally, but I hear he was a great guy, a true cops cop, even as he rose thru the ranks.

May he Rest in Peace.

My condolences to his family and friends.