During a solemn visit to New York City today, President Obama told a Manhattan firefighting crew that lost 15 members on 9/11 that the death of Osama bin Laden sends a strong message to both the nation and the world.
"When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say," Obama said during a fire station stop shortly before he laid a wreath at the site where the World Trade Center towers once stood.
After the wreath laying, Obama met with about 60 relatives of the nearly 3,000 people who died during the 2001 attacks that led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The president also visited a Manhattan police station to speak with more of the first responders on Sept. 11. 2001, telling officers, "I am here basically to shake your hands and just to say how proud I am of all of you."
Last weekend's raid on bin Laden "sent a signal ... that we have never forgotten the extraordinary sacrifices that were made on Sept. 11," Obama said. "We did what we said we were going to do."
The president's first stop of the day came at the "Pride of Midtown Firehouse" at 48th Street and Eighth Avenue. Arriving to the applause of nearby crowd, Obama greeted each member of the company and then stopped to examine a plaque bearing the names of 15 firefighters who gave their lives on 9/11.
"This is a symbolic site of the extraordinary sacrifice that was made on that terrible day almost 10 years ago," Obama told company members.
The president then went in to lunch with crew now assigned to Engine Company 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9. The president joked that he also visited the firehouse because "I heard the food was pretty good."
After the police station visit, Obama laid a wreath at Ground Zero. Our colleague Martha T. Moore reports:
Wreath laying site is between the two reflecting pools that mark the footprints of the towers, by a tree that was found growing on th site after the collapse and is called the Survivor Tree. It was taken away from the site, nursed back to health and returned to the site this year. Dignitaries included Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.; Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.; and Govs. Chris Christie, R-N.J., and Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y. New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg also attended.
Crowds with flags and cameras are strung along Church Street on the eastern edge of the 16-acre construction site.
Curtis Neal, 34, works as a super in building at 114 Liberty across from south edge of site. He thinks it's appropriate that Obama is here but worries that the Navy SEALS didn't get the right guy. "I wanted proof." Said he felt more certain after Obama spoke Sunday "but in the world we're living in anything is possible."
The White House closed Obama's meeting with 9/11 family members to the press. A statement said, "the families were selected in consultation with the National 9/11 Memorial staff and represent a cross section of family members from various 9/11 organizations who have been active advocating on behalf of 9/11 families."
In his remarks at the fire station, Obama also said that the commitment to making sure justice was done "is something that transcended politics, transcended party."
Spokesman Jay Carney said Obama wanted to visit the city in the wake of bin Laden's death "in order to recognize the terrible loss that New York suffered on 9/11 and to acknowledge the burden that families of the victims and the loved ones of the victims have been carrying with them since 9/11."
After a short plane ride from Washington, Obama choppered to a landing zone near Wall Street shortly after 11 a.m., with two limos and a pair of firetrucks waiting.
Also on hand to greet Obama: Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who led the city after the World Trade Center attack.
During the visit to the firehouse, Obama lauded Giuliani for his "heroic acts" on 9/11.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, listen, the main reason I came here is because I heard the food is pretty good.
But to the Commissioner, to Mayor Giuliani -- who obviously performed heroic acts almost 10 years ago -- but most of all, to all of you, I wanted to just come up here to thank you.
This is a symbolic site of the extraordinary sacrifice that was made on that terrible day almost 10 years ago. Obviously we can't bring back your friends that were lost, and I know that each and every one of you not only grieve for them, but have also over the last 10 years dealt with their family, their children, trying to give them comfort, trying to give them support.
What happened on Sunday, because of the courage of our military and the outstanding work of our intelligence, sent a message around the world, but also sent a message here back home that when we say we will never forget, we mean what we say; that our commitment to making sure that justice is done is something that transcended politics, transcended party; it didn't matter which administration was in, it didn't matter who was in charge, we were going to make sure that the perpetrators of that horrible act -- that they received justice.
So it's some comfort, I hope, to all of you to know that when those guys took those extraordinary risks going into Pakistan, that they were doing it in part because of the sacrifices that were made in the States. They were doing it in the name of your brothers that were lost.
And finally, let me just say that, although 9/11 obviously was a high water mark of courage for the New York Fire Department and a symbol of the sacrifice, you guys are making sacrifices every single day. It doesn't get as much notoriety, it doesn't get as much attention, but every time you run into a burning building, every time that you are saving lives, you're making a difference. And that's part of what makes this city great and that's part of what makes this country great.
So I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of the American people for the sacrifices that you make every single day. And I just want to let you know that you're always going to have a President and an administration who's got your back the way you've got the backs of the people of New York over these last many years.
So God bless you. God bless the United States of America.
And with that, I'm going to try some of that food. All right? Appreciate you. Thank you.
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