Locals Join President Obama At Ground Zero
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) - Massachusetts residents, including those who lost loved ones on 9/11 and local firefighters, joined President Barack Obama at Ground Zero on Thursday, just days after the death of Osama bin Laden.
President Obama soberly laid a wreath Thursday at New York's ground zero and declared to the city and the world, "When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say."
WBZ-TV's Kate Merrill reports.
The president closed his eyes and clasped his hands at the outdoor memorial where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once dominated the Manhattan skyline. He shook hands with 9/11 family members and others dressed in black at the site where the skyscrapers were brought down by planes commandeered by bin Laden's followers. Nearly 3,000 people were killed.
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The president met privately at the memorial site with about 60 family members from various 9/11 organizations. He also visited the firefighters and police officers whose response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, turned them into heroes and symbols of national resolve, but also cost them heavy casualties on that horrific day.
A Boston Police union official, representing some of the officers who fell in the line of duty on September 11th, also made the trek to New York.
One Lawrence firefighter spent the first eight months after the September 11 attacks in New York City doing whatever he could to help his brother firefighters, including working in "the pit" to search for any trace of human remains.
"(Osama bin Laden's) death is not bringing back any firefighters, or any of the 3,000 people that they lost in the Towers. You know, it's just closing the chapter now. Those of us that put on the uniform and go to work everyday, we're the ones that got to live with it, the constant memories, and that's gonna be with us for the rest of our lives," said the firefighter.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Jim Smith reports.
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When he first heard bin Laden was dead, he admits he was kind of numb. He added that President Obama did a great job.
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