NEW YORK - It was an iconic image for post-9/11 America: Rudy Giuliani surrounded by firefighters, dedicating the first major memorial to the 343 members of the FDNY who died in the terror attack.
On Saturday morning, families of dead firefighters joined the former mayor and other officials to unveil the $1 million bronze sculpture affixed to the wall of a firehouse - in view of the mammoth gap in the ground where the towers once stood.
Saturday marked the fourth anniversary of “the conclusion of recovery work” at ground zero, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scopetta noted.
“These men walked into the fire as other people walked out,” said Giuliani, who became known as “America's Mayor” for his take-charge demeanor after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.
In an eerie tableau, a commercial airliner flew overhead while Giuliani spoke to an audience of more than 500, flanked by fire engines under a row of U.S. flags that veiled the 6-foot tall, 56-foot wide bronze memorial, which Giuliani said symbolically was “forged in fire.”
The terrorists' aim was to kill as many people as possible, he said, while proving “that we were weak. ... But they were only able to partially achieve their first agenda,” he said at the ceremony under the memorial wall of Engine Co. 10/Ladder Co. 10 - the closest firehouse to ground zero.
More than 25,000 people streaming out of the trade center were saved and more than 2,700 died.
The result is the grand bas-relief that shows firefighters approaching the burning buildings with shovels and trucks. One is shown with his helmet removed, sitting down to rest, burying his face in his hand.
Family members pressed into the memorial, some of them tracing their loved ones' etched name onto pieces of paper - similar to what thousands have done at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. President Bush, Gov. George Pataki, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg all made statements via videotape.
AP-ES-06-10-06 1506EDT
Saturday marked the fourth anniversary of “the conclusion of recovery work” at ground zero, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scopetta noted.
“These men walked into the fire as other people walked out,” said Giuliani, who became known as “America's Mayor” for his take-charge demeanor after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.
In an eerie tableau, a commercial airliner flew overhead while Giuliani spoke to an audience of more than 500, flanked by fire engines under a row of U.S. flags that veiled the 6-foot tall, 56-foot wide bronze memorial, which Giuliani said symbolically was “forged in fire.”
The terrorists' aim was to kill as many people as possible, he said, while proving “that we were weak. ... But they were only able to partially achieve their first agenda,” he said at the ceremony under the memorial wall of Engine Co. 10/Ladder Co. 10 - the closest firehouse to ground zero.
More than 25,000 people streaming out of the trade center were saved and more than 2,700 died.
The result is the grand bas-relief that shows firefighters approaching the burning buildings with shovels and trucks. One is shown with his helmet removed, sitting down to rest, burying his face in his hand.
Family members pressed into the memorial, some of them tracing their loved ones' etched name onto pieces of paper - similar to what thousands have done at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. President Bush, Gov. George Pataki, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg all made statements via videotape.
AP-ES-06-10-06 1506EDT
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