President Obama's Speech at FDNY Fire House Engine 54 & Ladder 4

On Thursday May 5th, President Barack Obama came to New York to pay tribute to the victims of the September 11th attacks, I don't need to tell any of you in the field how important this news was to us. It was a great honor to have the President in the quarters of Engine 54/Ladder 4/Battalion 9 -- a house that lost all of its members who were working on Sept. 11th -- just days after making the announcement that after ten years in hiding, Osama bin Laden had been killed by US Special Forces. It was a great moment for this Department, and indeed the whole nation, when President Obama stood on the apparatus floor and said: "When we say we will never forget we mean what we say." The President also thanked our members for the work we did on September 11th, and the days, weeks and months that followed. But he also thanked us for the work we do every day, away from the headlines, keeping safe the millions of people who live, work and play here. I want to echo the President in that, and also I want to join him in thanking the brave troops who carried out this incredibly dangerous mission. And I want to thank the troops that have been fighting in our name for the last ten years. I also want to thank the members of Engine 54/Ladder 4/Battalion 9 for preparing a great meal for the President of the United States. As far as I could see, he ate every bite. You did us proud! Salvatore J Cassano Fire Commissioner