With these words, Billy Garrett, Superintendent of the Jamaica Bay Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, welcomed people to a candlelight memorial service for those who were missing and injured on September 11th. Presented at Fort Tilden in Brooklyn on September 23, 2001, the Affirmation expressed hope and reaffirmed the importance of National Parks in the everyday lives of Americans, as well as in times of crisis.

There is a hole in the New York skyline
a gap our minds try vainly to fill...
a hurt we want to fix by restoring the world to the way it was
before Tuesday morning, September 11th,
before the rhythm of daily routines and long-term plans were ripped apart
...before time stood still.

Here, on that beautiful late summer day,
we saw the catastrophe unfold at a distance as if in slow motion,
unwilling or unable to comprehend
what was later confirmed by radio and television
but was more directly conveyed
by friends and family and neighbors
who had been there.

Here, where the city meets the sea,
the world we know fundamentally changed;
as we went through the motions of scheduled activity,
our eyes ever returned to the horizon,
from the boardwalk at Jacob Riis Park,
from the runways on Floyd Bennett Field,
from the West Pond in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge,
we tried in vain to find our bearings.

For those of us who work at Gateway National Recreation Area
and those who have visited this park,
the towers of the World Trade Center were a point of reference:
they gave us a way to gauge our place at the edge of the metropolis,
they formed half of a symbolic contrast between nature and urban life,
they helped frame our context and our purpose.

They are gone now
...an image frozen in time.

As I made my rounds of the park later that week time folded back on itself:
at Frank Charles Park,
where we honor local men who died in the war to end all wars;
at Fort Tilden,
where great batteries helped defend New York Harbor
from attack by sea and by air;
and at the Ryan Visitor Center,
where six decades ago air traffic controllers oversaw the departure of
Grumman fighters for the Pacific Front.
Ghosts of the past,
reminding us of courage and sacrifice and dedication
in defense of freedom at other times of national crisis.

I was also reminded of the crusading efforts of Jacob Riis,
who helped make New York a more livable city for all of its residents,
and of the intrepid aviators of the 1930s
who inspired us with their daring
and expanded our vision of the applications of manned flight...
before we learned, first hand,
how those bright possibilities
could be twisted by evil intentions.

In the succeeding days
we have been picked up by the momentum of daily necessity,
carried through wakes and funerals,
all the while standing vigil for the missing and injured.

Together, we have moved through each day on ever steadier legs,
reinforced by the creative energy of artists, actors and musicians,
strengthened by the outstretched hand and smile of a stranger,
nourished by the sacred word and a shared pizza,
inspired by the timeless pattern of red-winged Monarchs
as they flutter by at the beginning of a two thousand mile journey.

Terrible as the events of the past two weeks have been,
they have formed a stark backdrop against which we can better examine
old assumptions and reaffirm our commitments to one another.
It is against this backdrop, that I restate our commitment to work with you;
to develop this park,
as a complement to a great city;
to work in concert with you, our neighbors and friends,
to create an example of harmony and mutual interdependence
for people and wildlife -
not apart from one another
but as part of one another.

This park will continue to serve as a safe haven
where all people can come;
alone or with others
to reflect and remember to grieve and to hope.
This park will continue to be a place of re-creation and renewal
where dreams and memories,
play and learning,
can inspire and enrich our lives -
in mind, body and spirit.

On behalf of the men and women of the National Park Service,
I welcome each and every one of you to this special gathering
and to this special place -
tonight and for all the days to come.

Billy Garrett, Superintendent
Jamaica Bay Unit, Gateway National Recreation Area
Candlelight Vigil, Fort Tilden, 9/23/01

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