NY Post

All 2,500 seats in St. Benedict's Church in Schuylerville were filled as Engeldrum — who risked his life on 9/11 and died tragically in Iraq — was remembered as a man of exceptional bravery and courage.

"The memory of your smile fills us with joy and laughter," said firefighter Michael Schiraldi, a close pal who delivered one of the two eulogies at the funeral.

Choking back tears, Schiraldi said, "Chris, I tip my hat to you. You are the true definition of a hero and a great friend."

Engeldrum, 39, left behind a pregnant wife, Sharon, and sons, Sean, 18, and Royce, 16. Sean delivered the second eulogy, a loving tribute to his father that received thunderous applause.

"My dad was the greatest man I will ever know, and I hope to be like him," the heartsick son said.

He added that his greatest regret is that his unborn sister or brother will never know their father.

"So I hope that all you friends and family will help give my sibling the idea of what they're missing out on," he said.

Engeldrum, an Army National Guard sergeant, Gulf War vet and ex-city cop, was killed on Nov. 29 when a bomb exploded under his Humvee as he rode in a convoy near Baghdad.

Engeldrum, who searched for Ground Zero survivors after the 9/11 attacks, was a five-year FDNY veteran who was with Ladder Co. 61 in the Co-op City section of The Bronx.

Among the mourners at his funeral was firefighter Dan Swift, 24, of Ladder Co. 43 in East Harlem, who was hit by shrapnel in the blast.

Wearing a patch over his right eye and supporting himself with a cane, Swift received a one-minute standing ovation when the Rev. Edmund Whalen, the church's pastor, welcomed him to the service.

The wounded fire hero broke down in tears.

The FDNY estimated that 9,000 people — firefighters, cops, Army officers and grateful neighborhood residents — attended the funeral, either filling the church or lining Otis Avenue outside. At some points, the crowd was 10 deep.

The funeral procession began with someone riding Engeldrum's red Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Then came a Ladder 61 firetruck that displayed the fallen firefighter's coat — black with yellow reflecting tape. It was folded so the name "Engeldrum" was visible.

Next came drummers from the FDNY's Emerald Society, tapping out a steady, mournful beat. Then came a Ladder 61 firetruck carrying Engeldrum's casket, which was draped in an American flag.

An Army honor guard saluted as the casket was taken off the firetruck and carried up the church stairs. Bagpipers played "Amazing Grace."

Swift, who was standing outside when the coffin arrived, hobbled up the stairs and into the church, where the casket was on the dais, Engeldrum's helmet on a chair nearby.

In his eulogy, Schiraldi, also a member of Ladder 61, said his buddy "was a child in a man's body. His was a brother to all who knew him and will always be remembered for his antics."

"No one of us wants to believe that Chris is gone from us without warning — literally in a flash."

Whalen, the pastor, noted that Engeldrum was a famous name in the community because his grandfather had run a gas station just a few hundred yards from the church.

It was at the gas station where Chris, age 18, met Sharon in 1983 while selling Christmas trees.

Engeldrum was "a man who day after day put his life on the line for others, battling fires in our city, keeping the peace overseas," the pastor said.

Mayor Bloomberg agreed.

"Chris Engeldrum touched people on so many different fronts, as a firefighter who battled fire and smoke in our homes and buildings or as a solider," the mayor said.

"There was no danger Chris was not willing to risk for his fellow Americans. He was, as his wife Sharon said, the ultimate patriot. We have all been awed by his service, his life touched us all."