[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 90 (Monday, July 8, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1200-E1201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ON NAMING THE DEER PARK, NEW YORK POST OFFICE FOR RAY DOWNEY, A TRUE 
                             AMERICAN HERO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE ISRAEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, July 8, 2002

  Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, on June 30th, I was honored to attend a 
ceremony where the Post Office in Deer Park, New York was renamed for 
New York Fire Department Chief of Operations Ray Downey, one of the 
many firefighters lost in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade 
Center on September 11, 2002. In fact, Chief Downey was the most senior 
member of the Fire Department killed that day. As you may recall, Mr. 
Speaker, this House voted in December to rename the Post Office. I 
wanted to share my remarks from that day with the House:

       Our country has been reunited with the tragedy of September 
     11th. And we should be. But I want to tell you about 
     something that I experienced on September 12th. Something 
     that has stood out in my mind, above everything else that 
     occurred that week.
       It was a unique week in American history--unprecedented 
     tragedy, unprecedented heroism. For me, one moment stands out 
     even more than the evening of September 11th, when I stood 
     with my colleagues on the steps of the Capitol, that we were 
     told was a target of terrorists only hours before, holding 
     hands and singing God Bless America as the sun descended over 
     the dome and over one of America's most horrific days.
       A moment stands out even more than September 13th, when I 
     sat with President Bush in the White House Cabinet room and 
     we talked about the battle to come. More than September 15th, 
     when I went with the President to the site of the World Trade 
     Center, where we lost Ray Downey and 3000 innocent victims of 
     terror.
       It stands above that evening, when I cast the proudest vote 
     of my career: the vote authorizing the President to do what 
     had to be done for the protection of our children and 
     survival of our values and our way of life.
       Of all those extraordinary experiences, one really stands 
     out . . . from September 12th.
       I was on the Floor of the House. And we had just heard from 
     CNN or AP that Ray Downey didn't make it. I went to a phone, 
     and I called Ray's daughter, Marie Tortorici. It would be the 
     very first of what turned out to be over 100 condolence calls 
     I would make as a Member of Congress to the families of my 
     constituents who died from terror on September 11th.
       ``I'm sorry,''I told Marie.
       And here's what she said: 'We still have hope. We still 
     have faith. We are praying and we want you to pray also.
       And so, I went back to the floor of the House, and 
     addressed the Congress, and asked them to say a prayer for 
     the Downey family.
       In their darkest hour, the Downey family still had hope, 
     still had faith, still had prayer. And this is what Osama bin 
     Laden and those who live in the darkness of nature don't 
     understand about our country, who we are, what are our 
     values, and where we summon our strength.
       When I visited with the President on September 14th I saw 
     the destruction the terrorists caused: the twisted metal and 
     the shattered glass and the smoky, acrid ruins. But I also 
     saw the signs of the true America. Rescue workers who had 
     planted tiny American

[[Page E1201]]

     flags in their battered helmets. Their arms were weary from 
     digging for three straight days and three straight nights, 
     but not so weary that they couldn't pump their arms into the 
     air and chant USA, USA, USA when the President arrived.
       I spoke to two workers: one from Huntington Station and the 
     other from Islip. I said, how long have you been here? They 
     said, since the building went down. I said, how long will you 
     stay, they said, we're not leaving. This is something al 
     Qaeda could never understand or appreciate. When Americans 
     saw bloodshed, we lined up for hours to give blood back. When 
     we feel fear, we turn to our faith. We unfurl our flags. When 
     Ray Downey's family was in trouble, they responded with hope 
     and with faith.
       Because that's what Ray was all about. When Ray Downey saw 
     a building come down, he headed for it. When Ray Downey saw a 
     building collapse in Oklahoma City, half a country away, he 
     headed for it. That's what made him special. Not a hero 
     looking for accolades. Just an American doing his job in the 
     best way he could with a courage forged by hope and faith. 
     That will inspire generations of Americans yet unborn.
       When I went to the floor weeks later and asked my 
     colleagues to cosponsor the bill that named this post office, 
     they lined up to sign it. Republicans. Democrats. From New 
     York. From Oklahoma. From California. When I asked Senator 
     Clinton to introduce it in the Senate, she rushed it. And 
     when I asked the President to sign it, he said, ``how soon.''
       Ray Downey had a way of bringing us together. In sports . . 
     . in the Fire Department . . . in Deer Park. We could really 
     use him in Washington right now. We may not have him 
     physically. But we will always have his spirit of hope, and 
     faith and strength to guide us.
       And when generations to come visit this post office and 
     say, ``who was Ray Downey?'' The answer will be clear. He was 
     a kind, gentle and loving man who died so that others would 
     live.
       He was one of those guys who gave his life to make us the 
     home of the brave . . . and the land of the free. And when I 
     think of him, as I do often, I recall the words from Romeo 
     and Juliet:

     And, when he shall die,
     Take him and cut him out in little stars,
     And he will make the face of heaven so fine
     That all the world will be in love with night
     And pay no worship to the garish sun.

       God bless the Downey family. God bless America.

       

                          ____________________