By Zach Patberg
Around his open casket were pictures of Spec. Wai Lwin, a Myanmar immigrant, smiling in Army fatigues and Buddhist garb, emphasizing a life laced with national and religious pride. On March 2, Lwin, 27, was killed instantly when a homemade bomb exploded near his Humvee during a patrol of a dangerous highway in Baghdad between the airport and the fortified U.S. government base known as the “Green Zone.”At Lwin's funeral service at Lloyd Funeral Home in Bayside, five Buddhist monks conducted an emotional ceremony filled with chants, song and prayers. Outside, U.S. troops stood at attention while friends, many of whom could not find room in the packed funeral home, lined the street.Lwin's grieving parents and siblings put their hands over their hearts as a military honor guard placed the coffin holding their fallen comrade into a hearse.”He had a great heart,” said Eddie Choi, who had known Lwin since high school. “It's a sad thing how he died, but he knew what he was doing over there was important and he died honorably.”Lwin was buried at Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn.A graduate of Bayside's Benjamin Cardozo High School, Lwin enlisted in Manhattan's 69th Infantry Regiment in 2003. There he befriended another Queens soldier, Spc. Azhar Ali, 27, of Flushing, who died in the same bomb explosion.Members of Ali's family living in Pakistan had trouble securing passports and visas to come to the United States for Ali's funeral and ran into red tape when requesting the release of the soldier's body.With help from elected officials, including City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) and U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), the family have since attained the proper documents to enter the country and bury Ali. His funeral was to be held at 11:45 a.m. Friday at the Moslem Center at 88-37 168th St. in Jamaica. “I am so pleased that we were able to help this family in their time of grief,” Clinton said in a statement. “I am glad they can now come to New York and lay their son to rest.”Liu said: “Azhar Ali was a true American hero and now his family will have the opportunity to put him to rest with the honor and dignity that he deserves.”Reach reporter Zach Patberg by e-mail at news @timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
