[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 17, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    MARKING THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TRAGEDY OF TWA FLIGHT #800

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. FELIX J. GRUCCI, JR.

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 17, 2001

  Mr. GRUCCI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the fifth 
anniversary of the tragedy of TWA Flight #800, remembering the 
passengers and crew who perished in that horrible event, and expressing 
our thoughts and sympathies to the families they left behind and those 
who participated in the rescue and recovery effort in the days 
following.
  On the night of July 17, 1996, 1 was called and told that the 
unthinkable happened. A commercial jet, TWA Flight #800 bound from New 
York to Paris, had exploded in the skies over Long Island's South 
Shore.
  There were no survivors.
  As a locally elected official of the community closest to the crash 
site, I was one of the first people on the scene in the moments 
following the crash at the U.S. Coast Guard Facility in East Moriches, 
New York.
  This tragedy has left an indelible memory that will last forever in 
the minds of all the residents of Long Island. They rallied to the aid 
of those who needed them when Flight #800 crashed off the shores of 
East Moriches.
  I speak today to honor not only those who lost their lives that 
night, but the families and friends they left behind and those who 
worked so hard, day and night, in the recovery effort.
  For so long after this tragedy, many of our residents wanted to know 
how they could help the families of the victims or those participating 
in the rescue effort. They came with donations of food, clothing, and 
eventually contributed to the construction of two separate memorials.
  The Tragedy of TWA Flight #800 is an event that has changed all of us 
as a nation forever, and one we should never forget.
  As the families of our lost neighbors and friends gather on the South 
Shore of Long Island in a candlelight vigil, Colleagues, please join me 
today in remembering and honoring the fifth anniversary of this tragedy 
with a moment of silence. Let us also recognize those who worked so 
hard in the rescue and recovery effort, and in expressing our sympathy 
and support to the families who lost a loved one that frightful night 
five years ago.

                          ____________________