Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at the Intrepid Memorial Day Event

May 30, 2017

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you so much, Bruce. I want to thank you and Ken Fisher for all you have done to keep this museum strong and to keep it a focal point for this city. And this is one of the places we gather in this city, not just on Memorial Day but regularly, to appreciate and remember all that our service members have done for us. So, thank you Bruce for you deep commitment.

I want to say to everyone, this – this has been a Fleet Week that started as each one does with such appreciation, such celebration, such joy to have members of our armed service among us here in this city. It is a special time each year.

But unfortunately, as we know, as Fleet Week ends, it ends with deep, deep sorrow. And I know on behalf of all eight-and-a-half million New Yorkers we are feeling sadness, we are feeling sympathy, and solidarity for the family of the Navy Seal we lost just yesterday.

We are feeling sympathy not just for his birth family but for his larger family, the men and women of the U.S. Navy.

I have to tell you that all of us admire the Navy Seals. We know so many times Navy Seals do things that very few others could do to protect all of us. And it’s a shock to see this loss but our solidarity with the Seals is strong.

I’d like to ask you all for a moment of silence on behalf of the fallen sailor.

[…]

Thank you. And I want to ask you for one other moment of reflection. And I know so many here who serve in our military or have served in our military also share a deep, deep respect for our first responders. And so many of our first responders served in the military before the great work they do protecting us every day in their civilian capacities.

Well, we lost a good man, and a man who went to bat for all those who had suffered as a result of their service at Ground Zero and in the months after during the rescue and recovery efforts. That history of those who selflessly went to the scene of our greatest tragedy in the history of this city and served, and then for far too many lived with the results for years and years after.

We are still losing good men and women who went that day and those weeks after selflessly. But one among them stood out because he fought for all, not just those from the New York area but those who served from – who came from all over this country, who came to this site to help.

Firefighter Ray Pfeifer led the charge for the Zadroga bill, literally, despite his illness, despite his disability going to Washington time and time again, being an example to all of what it meant to stand up for your brother and sister first responders.

And we lost him but let me tell you, very few people have lived better than Ray Pfeifer or done more for their fellow man and woman.

Please join me in a moment of silence for Firefighter Ray Pfeifer.

Thank you very, very much.

Thank you to all who are here, and a special thank you and deep appreciation to all who serve us in the armed forces, all the first responders here, all the veterans here. We can only begin to thank you for all you do for us.

Now, you’ve heard from some wonderful people and I want to just say a few things about them.

Admiral, I think you did something extraordinary just a few moments ago. I was listening carefully to the Admiral’s very heartfelt words, and if you listened you heard something that we could all believe in as Americans. It’s a big country, a country diverse in every sense, a country with different viewpoints, to say the least, but Admiral you summarized what unites us. And I want to thank you for that. That’s another thing we should remember on Memorial Day that there are some bonds that are stronger than any differences.

And Admiral, I think you, with a full heart, reminded us of something we all believe in together. Let’s thank the Admiral for those powerful words.

[Applause]

I want to thank Captain Jourden Moger for his very powerful thoughts. I want to thank Susan Marenoff-Zausner for her leadership at this great museum and Mel Immergut as well for all they have done, and of course, Joe Litchauer, for all you do on behalf of those who served on this extraordinary ship. And a special thank you – I don’t think there really are words to express both our appreciation and our marvel for the achievements of these two gentlemen here who served at Pearl Harbor – John Seelie and Armando “Chick” Galella. I’ve got to say thank you.

[Applause]

I had a moment, and it was a wonderful moment, to speak to Chick Galella about his service. And I did not know that in addition to his service at Pearl Harbor, he had served on Okinawa. And I talked to him about my own father’s service. They were both in the Army on Okinawa.

And I said to him – I such admiration for what Chick had done and such honor for what my father had done – I said, “I wonder if somewhere along the way you two crossed paths.” And he said, “Maybe we did but I know we’ll cross paths again in heaven.” Well, Chick, that’s a beautiful thought.

[Applause]

But, Chick, I saw you dancing with Susan over there earlier when the band was playing. I think it’s going to be quite a while before you get up there. So, we’re going to enjoy your presence right here with us. God bless you.

And also a deep thanks to my colleagues in government. I have to tell you, here, in New York City we have one of the largest communities of veterans anywhere in the country, as General Loree Sutton will tell you – 200,000 strong, is that right, General?

We honor those veterans by action in every way we can. And I want to give a special thanks to our City Council and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito who led the charge for the creation of a Department of Veteran’s Services as part of our City Government so we can more, not less. We can do more for our veterans. Speaker, thank you and everyone at the City Council, for your commitment.

[Applause]

And I mentioned General Loree Sutton is the inaugural Commissioner for the Department of Veteran Services, and is tireless in looking out for every way this city can serve our veterans. Thank you to you, and Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl, our Cultural Affairs Commissioner, who reminds us this is also a great cultural site, this beautiful museum.

Let’s thank Loree and Tom for all they do.

[Applause]

I think a lot of you know what this ship went through. For those of us who were children of the World War II generation, you say the word Intrepid and a special atmosphere would take over the room because this ship was known for the most extraordinary feats.

And I think for younger generations it may be hard at first blush to fully understand what happened on this ship and around this ship but there’s a reason it’s here in the largest city in this country as a focal point. It’s one of the things we’re proudest of because Intrepid only begins to describe the perseverance and the strength associated with this ship, and the good men who served on it.

It was attacked many times, survived a torpedo attack and four kamikaze attacks, and somehow kept going and played a crucial role in defeating the legendary Japanese battleship, Yamato.

And for a whole generation when they thought of the Intrepid, it reminded them – it reminded them to keep going. It reminded them that they could overcome what appeared to be impossible odds.

You know it is a blessing for my family to have received those extraordinary memories of World War II, to have a little bit of insight into what it was to have a nation so united because so many people served and not just the frontline members of the armed services.

So many people served on the home front as well, men and women alike. And that was true in our family and that was true in families all over this country. And there was a sense of unity and solidarity that came with that.

And I think that’ll probably help people to understand the full meaning of Memorial Day and to keep it close, to keep it full in their hearts. Here’s why it’s so important because there’s an unbroken chain literally going back to the founding of this Republic, and all of us are a part of it, every single family in some way.

You know, Admiral, when you were speaking I couldn’t help but thinking of those who served and those who died here in this city in defense of our nation in the Battle of Long Island which took place largely in Brooklyn, where the main body of the American forces were saved from capture by the British by a brave Maryland regiment that held off a much superior force back in 1776. Well, part of the same armed forces we celebrate today – if you go to Fort Greene, Brooklyn, there is a memorial to American patriots who were kept on British prison ships.

It’s a very visible memorial. A lot of New Yorkers and Americans don’t know what it stands for. It stands for those who served their country and then suffered as prisoners of war.

Well, that’s a long time ago but that beginning of our nation, it was made possible because everyday people, farmers, tradespeople, and artisans, decided they believed in an idea of liberty that had never been achieved anywhere else in the world, and they put their lives on the line. And we celebrate them just as we celebrate the fallen hero we lost yesterday.

It’s an unbroken chain and it’s something very powerful. And it’s something that should lead us on Memorial Day to remember the humanity of these good people, their belief, their willingness to come forward, again, many times against all the odds. That’s, to me, what Memorial Day is – a chance to remember more deeply.

And then it’s also a chance to remember the families because any family touched by war carries those challenges forward. I can say from my own experience, what happened to my dad on Okinawa continued to affect our family for decades thereafter. And I know so many people in this room understand that.

So, when we think about Memorial Day, we don’t just think about those who are lost, we think about those who raised them, we think about those who loved them, we think about those who feel an emptiness because they’re gone. And we need to be there for them as well.

Memorial Day should not just be about a sense of the past, it has to have a living, strong component too that’s about those who carry on.

And finally, we think, of course, about those serving us now and those who have served but for whom we have to do more.

I’ll tell you when I first started to understand that there were veterans who had become homeless, it made no sense to me. And I’ll tell you that in this city we were – we were so upset at that notion. We put our shoulder to the wheel. We worked with public sector and private sector alike, and over the last two years we ended chronic veteran homelessness in New York City. It had to end.

[Applause]

We have to have an attitude that no veteran should ever feel alone. How could someone who stood up for all of us ever feel alone? But tragically it still happens. So, for all of us, everyone us, it should be our obligation whether it’s helping a veteran to find a home, to get a job, to get the mental health services they may need, whatever it is, that’s another way of us all paying our debt to those who have served us.

That work goes on and the simplest way I can conclude would be to say this – never take it for granted. It’s a challenge to every one of us. Never take for granted that people have chosen to put on a uniform and risk their lives. Never take it for granted, stop to think about, and then ask yourself a question – what am I doing, what can I do for those who have served, what can I do for the families who lost a loved one in service, what can I do to remember them with the fullest heart every day?

That’s the mission for all of us.

Thank you and God bless you all.

[Applause]