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NEW YORK (CBS) A vial holding the blood of a young Brooklyn firefighter was placed in a coffin alongside his uniform Monday at a Mass — making him the last of the 343 firefighters killed at the World Trade Center to receive a memorial.

The family of firefighter Michael Paul Ragusa, 29, said the blood, which he had donated to a bone marrow center in the months before Sept. 11, 2001, represented his lifelong dedication to helping others.

His remains at the trade center were never found.

"He had such a generous spirit," Monsignor John Delendick told mourners at the Church of Saint Bernard in Brooklyn. "Friends always called him when they needed help. They knew Michael would take care of the problem. Always."

About 500 people sat or stood shoulder-to-shoulder inside the church's small sanctuary. Thousands more firefighters — including many who never knew Ragusa or even came from other states — listened to speakers set up outside.

Monday's Mass was punctuated by sorrowful rituals that have become all too familiar to the Fire Department in the past two years, bagpipes wailing "Amazing Grace," the somber beat of a drumline, a silent fire truck carrying the coffin.

In the many months following Sept. 11, some firefighters' families had held memorial services, then found themselves planning funerals after their loved ones' remains were finally found. Other families put off having any kind of services while they waited for word; all but Ragusa's family eventually held some type of memorial.

Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani received a loud ovation when he approached the altar to speak, then lauded the Fire Department for struggling through what once seemed an endless procession of funerals and memorials.

"I remember them in the rain, in the snow, sometimes 12 funerals a day," he said. "Each individual life was very important. Each individual life was the reason why so many more people were alive."

The Mass was held in the Bergen Beach section of Brooklyn, a seaside neighborhood of low-slung houses and cottages near where Ragusa was born and raised. His father, mother, two brothers, sister and fiancee Jennifer Trapani attended.

His family, in a written remembrance of Ragusa given to fire officials for public distribution, said Ragusa was an indispensable source of help and his advice for his friends.

When some friends found themselves in a bind, they often made decisions by thinking of the code letters WWMD — "What would Mikey do?"

On Sept. 11, "He didn't flinch. He didn't hesitate," Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said at the service. "He saw those two towers with thousands of people in need, and he rushed in."

Of the 2,792 people who died in the attack, the medical examiner has identified remains of just over half.

Ragusa's parents have told the medical examer that they do want want to be notified if any remains are identified. "It's time to begin healing," they told CBS 2's Paul Moniz.

Ragusa was described by friends at a wake Sunday as a fun-loving man who relished his work and had a penchant for cars and softball.

On Monday, replicas of the black No. 3 car driven by late NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt and of the logo for Foster's beer, both favorites of the young firefighter, were placed on the altar.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg offered comfort to the family, saying that while he did not know Ragusa personally, he knew his own children were safer because of Ragusa and other firefighters.

In soft voice, the mayor reflected on the sheer number of funerals firefighters have endured since the attack.

"One is too many," he said. "Three hundred forty-three is almost too much to bear."