THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, December 8, 2001 2 HEROES SALUTED, MOURNED By AUSTIN FENNER, BRIAN HARMON and OWEN MORITZ

A Bronx firefighter, whose last fateful minutes entering 2 World Trade Center were captured on video, was memorialized yesterday five days short of his 31st birthday. More than 2,500 mourners crowded a Throgs Neck church to pay respects to Michael Francis Lynch, the Engine Co. 40 member whose gaze into the camera, then up at the majestic south tower has been ingrained on video. "When Michael went into the jaws of death, he went with the Lord's faith," said Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, whose first cousin is Lynch's mother. "That's what he got from his mother and father." He was one of two hero firefighters - among the 343 to lose their lives in the Sept. 11 disaster - to be remembered at memorial masses yesterday. Lynch, one of 10 children of Irish immigrants, was to have married Stephanie Luccioni on Nov. 16. Yesterday, Luccioni, barely holding back tears, spoke lovingly of Lynch. "You are my love, my best friend, my hero," she said in St. Frances de Chantal Church in the Bronx. "I've longed to see your face and your touch. I know you are watching over me." Then, after saying she sees Lynch whenever she looks into a family member's eyes, she walked over to the welcoming arms of Lynch's father, Jack Lynch, who embraced her. Thomas Lynch, a brother, recalled their last summer together. "I felt Michael was truly happy," he said. "He was in love with his job, he was in love with Stephanie and he loved fishing." "I guess having three sisters and six brothers wasn't enough for Michael, so he found 10,000 more," said his brother Freddie Lynch, referring to Michael's FDNY brethren. 'Legendary status' In Baldwin, L.I., Firefighter Brian McAleese, who left four young children and a grieving widow, was memorialized at services at St. Christopher's Church. "Brian died a hero, but it did not take this tragedy to make him so," Dawn McAleese told mourners. "Brian was a hero in everyday life. So full of life. Larger than life." McAleese, 36, a member of Engine Co. 226 in Brooklyn, comes from a family of public servants - one brother is a fireman and another is a police officer. Their father lost a long bout with multiple sclerosis this year. Jack McAleese's illness spurred Brian McAleese's close involvement with the Multiple Sclerosis Society. He took MS patients fishing and horseback riding and often recruited fellow firefighters to go on the trips. Brian McAleese, a graduate of Nassau Community College's culinary arts program, was known as the firehouse chef. Kevin McAleese, a city cop, said his brother has achieved legendary status. "On. Sept. 11, my brother Brian stepped off that fire truck and into history," he said. "They climbed those stairs to heaven and became legends." Mayor Giuliani offered similar sentiments. "If it weren't for the awe-inspiring bravery of Brian McAleese and the other firemen and police officers, this country would be devastated," he said. "It's their bravery that turns us around." The mayor sat in the front row with Brian McAleese's four children - Brianne, 5; Jack, 4; Liam, 2, and 7-month-old Aiden. Standing on the same altar where she exchanged marriage vows with Brian seven years ago, Dawn McAleese spoke of the widespread love that her "best friend" has evoked. "I knew Brian knew he was loved, but I don't think he knew by how many," she told mourners, many of whom sobbed. "A part of all of us died that day."

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