[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 14, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE MEMORY OF JOHN M. COLLINS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 13, 2005

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, the tragedy of September 11 casts a long 
shadow that still haunts our lives. Our buildings will be replaced, our 
streets repaved, the infrastructure repaired. But the people we lost, 
and the promise they had for us, can never be anything but a loss. They 
leave a vacuum in us that cannot be filled. 
  John Collins was a firefighter when he died for us, a policeman who 
protected us before that, and always a generous and caring son, a 
loving brother, and a good friend, companion, and neighbor.
  He was also generous. He knew that when hard times came on someone, 
it was not always their fault and he would help in any way he could. He 
was a key part of the Skehill Foundation, an annual softball tournament 
that has raised more than $100,000 in scholarship money for several 
schools in the Kingsbridge/Riverdale area. As a police officer, friends 
tell of his often buying groceries for the people in his precinct or 
sneakers for their children.
  On a personal note, John was, like my father, an Ironworker, a group 
I have known, loved, and admired since I was a boy and my father took 
me to work.
  John Collins lived here and so it is appropriate that this memento of 
him be placed here. It is said that a man never truly dies as long as 
he is remembered. This small tribute will help us to remember that a 
true man, a hero, walked among us here, helping us in dozens of ways 
that, perhaps, we took for granted because he did it so effortlessly.
  I want to borrow some words from a remembrance of John Collins by 
Karen Donnelly that so eloquently tells of our grief:

       We all, have given pieces of ourselves to each other. We 
     have taken from each other. This is bravery; this is courage. 
     If we had not ventured out into life with both arms wide, we 
     would not know this grief. If we had not courageously given, 
     and taken, friendship from each other, we would have no 
     memories of immeasurable joy and happiness. To know this 
     sadness is our right. We have earned it. We are courageous 
     enough to accept life's rewards, knowing we risk this almost 
     unbearable, profound grief.

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