Wake Held for Fallen Soldier Spc. David Fahey, Jr.

A note was left on the Yorktown Funeral Home' s door by a few kids saying:

"Thank you for all you done for our country. Even though we never met you, we love you with all our heart. You were brave and incredible. For the second time, we love you."

That echoed what many people were thinking, those who knew and did not know the young soldier. Family, friends and other people wanting to pay their respects came to the Yorktown Funeral Home on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

"We're showing honor to the family that we're standing near in this time of grief and that we'll screen any crazy people who might show up," said Robert Kepler of Mohegan Lake, an Army Vietnam veteran. He is the ride captain of the Patriot Guard Ride. 

Kepler called Fahey his "hero" for what he has done for the country. 

"The important thing is this soldier will get the proper burying," he said.

David Richard Fahey, Jr. was serving in the U.S. Army when he was killed in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan on Feb. 28. His insurgents attacked his unit in Kandahar using an improvised explosive device after a morning patrol. 

He was born in Norwalk, Conn. His uncle and aunt Tom and Fran Fahey, adopted him and his siblings, Phyllis and Nicholas, when he was a child. The couple also has four biological children — Brianna, Tyler, Samantha and Blake. His cousins became his siblings. 

David Fahey's friends said  as a man who was able to make people smile, bring laughter into every situation, and as someone people could count on.

The family has provided a photo collage to the funeral home with photos and music which played in the main room to the left of the entrance for everyone to view. Photographs included pictures of his parents, birthdays, graduation, and playing sports with friends. 

On Tuesday, during the wake members of the Yorktown American Legion, Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, and Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino were some of the people who paid their respects to Spc. Fahey. 

Fahey has been awarded the Bronze Star for service, the Purple Heart, and the Combat Action Badge. He was  to Specialist, a rank just above Private First Class.

The rest of the viewing hours today are 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the , 945 East Main St. in Shrub Oak. 

A  will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday at , 137 Moseman Ave. in Yorktown Heights. Burial will follow at Rose Hills Memorial Park Cemetery in Putnam Valley.