Mulcahy's Hosts 20th Annual Tribute For LI Man Killed Serving In Iraq

WANTAGH, NY — Mulcahy's Pub will once again host a fundraiser in memory of James McNaughton, an Army reservist staff sergeant and NYPD officer who was killed by a sniper while guarding prisoners at a camp in Iraq.

This year's fundraiser marks two decades since McNaughton was laid to rest.

"It's probably the only place on Long Island [where] we can hold the amount of people that show up," Vinny Zecca told Patch. "It's not something that we could just have at a local bar."

That number is expected to eclipse 1,000 for the Feb. 1 event, where proceeds will go toward charities that include the Wounded Warriors Project and the Northport P.T.S.D. Veterans Association.

The annual fundraiser has become an event that patrons look forward to on their calendars.

"You see the same faces every year," Zecca said. "They bring friends and family. It's been growing every year."

For Zecca, being at Mulcahy's every year takes him back to his childhood in Centereach.

"I grew up with him. I met Jimmy in the third grade," Zecca said.

McNaughton, who was 27 when he died, was assigned to the Army Reserve battalion based in Uniondale. He joined the NYPD months before 9/11. McNaughton's father, also a former member of the NYPD, died last year from 9/11-related cancers.

The 20th-anniversary tribute to McNaughton runs from 1-7 p.m. at Mulcahy's in Wantagh.

"They're great. They do so much for us. That's the reason why we've stayed there," Zecca said. "Granted, it's convenient because of the location and the size of it. But if they didn't do right by us, we would have figured something out."