50 People To Know: 9/11 Tribute Center Founder Lee Ielpi

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- In this week's 50 People to Know, we share the story of Lee Ielpi.

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Photos: 9/11 Tribute Center

The retired FDNY firefighter founded the 9/11 Tribute Center in 2006, along with Jennifer Adams, after losing his son, Jonathan, in the attacks. He was 29 years old and married with two young sons.

Ielpi spent months searching for the remains of his son and nearly 100 of his fallen friends.

"We have an obligation – we meaning the public, worldwide – have an obligation to remember 9/11 and to use that as the catalyst to make tomorrow better," he says. "If we fail doing that, we fail. So our mission is just that – education, enlightenment, understanding what happened."

The center not only teaches about the attacks, but how they changed the world.

You can find their full interview above.

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