December 3, 2004 -- Chris Engeldrum's best buddy, Mike Brown, was riding in the Humvee behind him outside Baghdad when the hero firefighter's truck was ripped apart by a bomb.
"He's just heartbroken," Brown's wife, Rose, told The Post yesterday.
Chris, the firefighter, and Mike, the cop, were inseparable, she said.
"They met in the National Guard 12 years ago and they became good friends - best friends," she added. "They just loved to hang out together - it didn't matter what they were doing."
Engeldrum was the best man at the Browns' wedding - just three days after 9/11, she said.
Both men had been searching through the smoldering debris at Ground Zero, looking for survivors, and took a break for the marriage ceremony.
On Monday - in another devastating terrorist attack - her husband lost his closest friend.
"He really couldn't speak, he was so upset," Rose said of her husband's call home to tell her the heartbreaking news.
"He couldn't help."
"It's unbelievable. They weren't even in Iraq a month. They didn't get there until Nov. 2."
Engeldrum, an Army veteran who fought in the first Gulf War, and Brown, an Army reservist, were determined to serve together in Iraq, she said.
"Most of their National Guard unit had been there for a year already . . . They were held back for a while because they were a cop and a fireman."
Brown, 35, is a former NYPD cop who moved to the Ramapo police force in Rockland County two years ago. Engeldrum, 39, was also a city cop before going from the Finest to the Bravest five years ago.
"They weren't going to go to Iraq without each other," said Rose.
"The one comfort I had was that they were there together," she said, sobbing softly.
When Engeldrum learned - on the phone with wife Sharon - that he was going to be a father again, the first person he shared the news with was Brown.
"He told Mike, 'Prepare yourself, you're going to be a godfather,' " said Engeldrum's mother, Lenora.
If the baby is a boy - the family's third son - he will be named Chris in honor of his dad, family members said yesterday.
Engeldrum's body arrived in the United States yesterday for a funeral, planned for early next week. His best friend hopes to be there.
"I don't know if he'll be able to get home for it, but I know he wants to," Mrs. Brown said.
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- FDNY FF Killed in Iraq, Second Wounded in Blast
- FDNY Comrade Braved Injury To Aid His Pals
- Long Island Firefighter Dies in Iraq
- Md. Firefighter Killed in Iraq
- Engeldrum Born To Be A Hero
- City Bids For Full Pension For FDNY Bravest Killed in Iraq
