Happiness, But No Closure For Family Of 9/11 Victim
FORT LEE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The killing of Osama bin Laden holds special meaning for those who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks.
Robert Zampieri showed CBS 2's Christine Sloan us pictures of his son, Robbie, who was killed during the attacks. He said news of bin Laden's death brings some comfort, but not closure.
"People have asked me all this morning, 'are you happy?' Are you this? It's not going to change my life," Dr. Zampieri said.
Robbie Zampieri was just 30 years old when he was killed. He was on the 92nd floor of Tower One when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center.
"I don't hate Osama. I just, when it happened, people asked do you want to get him, kill him? I said, no, I'd like to talk to him and say why? Because if you build your relationships on hate you're going to kill yourself internally," Dr. Zampieri said.
But he's grateful to the military and those in the intelligence community who tracked bin Laden down.
"I want to thank them because they were tireless in their effort," Dr. Zampieri said.
What gives this family peace is knowing Robbie's life was well-lived.
"He had a wonderful life. He had been over to Dublin for a year, to England for a year. He was in the World Trade Center, had a great job," Dr. Zampieri said.
The Zampieris have turned their pain into hope, creating a scholarship fund for a school in their son's name."
"We have a vehicle to keep Robbie alive," he said.
In four years, they've raised $1 million for St. Anthony's School in Jersey City. Dr. Zampieri said he knows his son would be proud.
"The only thing I cannot do is hug him. I talk to him every day, but I just can't hug him. But he's still with us," Dr. Zampieri said.
Family members told Sloan Robbie was actually scheduled to work the night shift at his job at the World Trade Center, but was called in at the last second for a day shift.
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