Mulcahy's event honors fallen soldier James McNaughton after 20 years

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Twenty years after a sniper’s bullet killed Staff Sergeant James McNaughton in Iraq, Vinny Zecca never imagined he’d still be honoring the memory of his childhood friend.

Zecca, along with friends and family, held the 20th annual tribute celebrating the life of McNaughton, a NYPD officer and U.S. Army reservist, at Mulcahy’s Pub and Concert Hall, 3232 Railroad Ave. in Wantagh, on Feb. 1.

“A lot of people come down, and they see not only the type of person Jimmy was and how many lives he touched, but they also have a really good time,” Zecca said. “It draws them back every year.”

The tribute featured a live DJ and a musical performance by Plunge, a Long Island-based rock band that has played at the event each year. According to Zecca, members of law enforcement and military attended the event, and the NYPD Pipes and Drums band performed.

The goal of the tribute, according to Zecca, is to ensure McNaughton’s memory is kept alive, as well as honor fallen heroes and raise awareness and support for veterans and service members who incurred a physical or mental injury or illness due to their military service. Proceeds from the event will benefit nonprofit organizations that support veterans, including the Wounded Warrior Project and the Northport P.T.S.D. Veterans Association.

Zecca became friends with McNaughton in the 1980s when they met in third grade at Oxhead Road Elementary School in Centereach. McNaughton was born on April 13, 1978 at West Point Military Hospital, where his father, William, was stationed as a cook. He grew up in Centereach and developed a love for poker and working on cars, including a 1969 Chevelle that he and his father restored together.

McNaughton enlisted in the Army in 1996, serving five years before joining the reserves. The day after being honorably discharged in 2001, he joined the NYPD. As an Army reservist, he was deployed to Iraq in 2004. On Aug. 2, 2005, while McNaughton, 27, was training Iraqi police, a sniper shot and killed him.

The following January, the childhood friends of Zecca and McNaughton organized the inaugural tribute event at Mulcahy’s. They continued to hold the tribute in succeeding years, as more and more people honored McNaughton’s life.

“Every year started getting a little bit bigger, a little bit better and more attendees,” Zecca said. “It's been probably over 15 years since we've seen less than 1,000 people walk in the door.”

Mulcahy’s, Zecca noted, holds special meaning because McNaughton patronized the concert hall with friends when he returned home from deployment.  

McNaughton’s stepmother, Michele, said the annual tribute is a heartwarming experience, with friends, family and coworkers getting together to share stories of McNaughton.

“No parent wants their child forgotten,” she said. “So, when everybody comes together, it shares him, it keeps his name out there and keeps him alive in our stories.”

McNaughton’s father, Bill, who was also an NYPD officer and Army veteran, died from 9/11-related cancer on Dec. 7, 2023, at age 68. For the 20th year anniversary, Zecca and friends wanted to make it a special event for the surviving family, keeping the memory of both McNaughton and his father alive.

Paying tribute to his childhood friend means everything to Zecca, he said, and seeing people come back year after year is what motivates friends and family to continue holding the annual event.

“It’s helped us get through Jimmy,” Zecca said, “and I think he’d be smiling down knowing that it’s a party for him.”