Transcript: Mayor Bill de Blasio Delivers Remarks at the FDNY 20th Anniversary 9/11 Ceremony

September 11, 2021

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Your Eminence, thank you. You have been, every day, there for the men and women of the FDNY, for their families – you've shown your love and your support. Thank you so much. It means so much to all of us. And on behalf of all the people of this city, 8.8 million New Yorkers, thank you to everyone who has gathered here in remembrance. I want to thank our Governor Kathy Hochul, our Attorney General Tish James, thank you. But I especially want to thank the family members who are here. All of us who are civilians can only begin to understand, but to the members of the families of those lost on 9/11, 343 members of this department, it's a number we cannot comprehend to this day. The pain signified the loss of so many good, noble, decent people who put themselves in harm's way. And a number that represents something so painful: 257 members lost since 9/11. We stand with the families, but we don't know your pain, all of us who haven't gone through it. So, all I can say is we stand with you, we thank you for your strength. I've seen it so many times over these 20 years, family members who were there for each other, one family for another – who'd showed the very best of this city in your compassion and carried on everything that was good about the one you lost. 

9/11 is personal for every New Yorker. Every one of us can tell you not only where we were when we heard, but who we lost in our lives – but for you, it's a magnitude so much greater. For the men and women of this department, many of you lost members of your own blood family, but you lost so many members of your FDNY family, and it surrounds you and it's painful every day. And yet, you have persevered in a way that has the admiration of not only the entire nation, but the entire world. It is impossible to put into words the respect that you have won for fighting through the unbelievable, the unimaginable, and always being there to protect the people of this city. Every one of us thinks about this very personally.  

A few months before that horrible day, I was in a living room in my own neighborhood in Brooklyn, visiting with two wonderful people, David and Marian Fontana, and everyone knows David went back on duty that day, even though it was his anniversary, and we lost him. And I didn't know Michael Boyle personally, but I sure knew his dad, Jimmy Boyle. I think a lot of people in this room knew Jimmy Boyle. One of the most passionate and colorful figures this Department has produced in the long time. That family gave so much. Story after story of goodness, people who just wanted to do the right thing, and now they're gone.  

So, we could remember just the pain, but I ask us all on this day to also remember the greatness, remember the joy that these good men and women brought to us and to the world. Remember that those who perpetrated evil did not win. They thought they'd tear us apart. They thought they'd write the final chapter. But in fact, we bound together. We showed, all of us, what the city was made of - what this nation was made of. The terrorists did not win. They lost. I just hope everyone, in a time of remembrance magnified by the pain we've been through in the last year and a half with the coronavirus, I hope everyone takes some solace and every one of you have continued that fighting spirit, that noble spirit. We can't bring them back, but we can do our very, very best to live like them. And to the people gathered here today, I say thank you for continuing their memory in the most noble way. Thank you for living as they had lived, as they would have wanted us to live. I thank you for that profoundly because it makes a difference, and it makes this city great. It makes this nation great. God bless you all.  

[…] 

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro: Almost 20 years ago, at a mass for his son, Jonathan, one of our 343, my friend, Firefighter Lee Ielpi, stood before us and said, "I know he's in God's arms, but I wish he were in mine." How many of us have said or thought that very same thing over the years, following the loss of our loved ones? We can hear and believe the phrase "they are in a better place." Yet we so wish that place was right here with us.  

We remember. We remember that beautiful September morning, 20 years ago – it suddenly became dark and mournful, and it forever changed our lives. We remember today, and every day, those we lost then, and in the days since. They were our husbands and wives, our fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, our loved ones and our friends. The mission on that faithful late summer morning was at once simply defined yet incredibly difficult to achieve: the rescue of thousands of trapped New Yorkers in our tallest buildings. Our members’ courage brought hope to those trapped. The stories of heroism from that day are legendary in the days, weeks and months that followed brave men and women, determined men and women, toiled ceaselessly in the rescue and recovery effort. Many became sick. Far too many have died. We honor and remember them for their sacrifice. It's not an overstatement to proclaim that our 343 and those who've perished since demonstrated the courage that is the essence of the FDNY. They inspired our city, our nation, and our world.  

People may ask why 20 years later we gather here today, we have all already mourned and cried. Must we still remember, and of course we must. The events of that September morning have joined us together forever. History has joined us to that time and place, and the togetherness brings us strength and comfort, forever supporting one another and caring for one another. We will never forget. 

Why is it important to be here in St. Patrick's Cathedral? 55 years ago, after the dreadful 23rd Street Fire that took the lives of 12 of our members, the Department gathered right here for a solemn funeral mass, and we've gathered here many times since. 20 years ago, distraught members and families questioning and shattered, sought answers when there were none that would suffice, they sought comfort and strength. This was a place where we received that comfort and strength then, and many times since. So, here we are. Once again, we gather together in the company of friends in this sacred space to feel at peace and to remember those who we’ve loved and lost. We know they are in God's arms, but we so much wish they could once again be in ours. In this Department, the bravest and the best, will never forget our heroes and their families. We will remain strong and will forever honor those who live in our hearts. And may God bless them and bless you, and may God bless the FDNY. 

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