Transcript: Mayor Bill de Blasio Delivers Remarks at the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial Ceremony

September 11, 2021

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Everybody, this gathering every year is so moving. And there's reasons why this is special. There are many moments when we think about 9/11, when we think about the people in each and every one of our lives we lost. But something special happens here different than what I see in other gatherings. One of the reasons is, obviously, the love and concern that Jimmy Oddo puts into this with his team. And I want to emphasize the love, because I hope you can hear it in his voice each year, the love he has for each and every one of you and the honor he's trying to give you – the respect and the effort to somehow ease your pain a little. And his whole team, everything they do is trying in every way to just bring something good into this day for you. And this memorial is so beautiful, and so moving, and it is poignant. And when you're feeling the weight of your loss, this is a place to be. And when you want to have some hope, this is also a place to be. So, you look out at this beautiful harbor and it reminds you of the greatness of this place, and all of us. This place is great because of you. This place has great because of the people, not the buildings.  

I was struck during our last song, which I've heard several times. It's absolutely beautiful. I was struck that we have to appreciate what each and every one of you have done to show who we are as New Yorkers, as Americans, by the way you've comported yourself through the pain. I like, so many, in my own upbringing received a sense of what it was to be an American and to believe in our country, because my dad served in World War II. He volunteered after Pearl Harbor, served in the Pacific in the U.S. Army, and he came home missing half a leg from a grenade thrown at him on Okinawa. And he was in pain physically and emotionally for the rest of his life. But he felt so honored to have served his nation. And, in our household, it was not a question, it was to all of us clear that we had to serve each in our own way. And our faith in our country, it was a given that we, of course, would find our unity. It was not imaginable – even if there were differences at any given time, it was not imaginable that we wouldn't all, as Americans in common, face the world.  

And I want to thank all of you, because for the last 20 years, what the families who suffered so much have shown is the very best in this city and the very best in this nation, because you did not turn away from each other, you turned toward each other. And I know it was never easy to put up with the pain, the weight, every single day, what you had to go through just to keep going. But so many of you reached out to others. So many of you helped, whether it was a member of your family, or someone else who had lost a loved one, or another member of a family, a member of service. One after another, I've seen these moments where people were there for each other and it's very, very powerful. And so many of you continued serving this borough, this city, this nation. And then, this morning, we heard the beautiful stories of the children, the grandchildren who are carrying on the traditions – first responders, in our armed forces, and public service in so many ways. And all I can say is, even with the pain and the somberness, the challenge that we feel that will never go away, I know everyone you love is watching down, and they're smiling, because of what you have done, one for another. They're smiling, because you lived up to all their hopes and dreams for you. So, we mourn, but I want to celebrate you and give thanks for you. So many might've given up and so few did. God bless you all.