IN REMEMBRANCE

On November 13, 2001, these words were published in my book, The Lost Son, A Life in Pursuit of Justice.


"The events of September 11, 2001, robbed the New York City Police Department, and the city at large, of 23 extraordinary human beings: police officers, sergeants, and detectives; twenty-two men and one woman who were beloved by their families and valued by the communities they served. But in their sacrifice, these fallen heroes gave the world something truly great in return: a demonstration of unshaken courage in the face of death, and the nobility of the human spirit. In a city of superlatives, theirs was an ultimate act of virtue; let their lives, and their bravery, never be forgotten."


Today, let us also not forget the 343 members of the FDNY, or the 37 Port Authority Police Officers who died as well, or the dozens of first responders from the NYPD, FDNY, AND PAPD that have died since, due to 9/11 related illnesses.


I salute and honor them all, as well as their surviving brothers and sisters in uniform, who on that day, and in the days after, put life before death, in one of the greatest rescue and recovery missions in United States history.


God Bless them all.


-BERNARD B. KERIK