[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6269-6270]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           OUR PATRIOT SAILORS: HONORING CAPTAIN JAMES PARESE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. VITO FOSSELLA

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 13, 2003

  Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, we wake up every morning to our newspapers 
filled with stories of possible war, of tragic loss of our astronauts, 
of heightened warnings of terrorist attacks and of dangerous 
international dictators. In all, Americans are finding it a difficult 
time to be confronted every day with these tragedies, uncertainties and 
fears.
  Therefore, Mr. Speaker, during times like these, it is all the more 
vital to our national spirit to tell Americans about uplifting and 
comforting stories. We need to remind ourselves of our national 
qualities for which we are so unique--patriotism, courage and 
generosity for our fellow man.
  The story I tell you today, you will not have read about in your 
local paper, nor watched on TV, because this is the story of an unsung 
hero, a man who showed unwavering bravery during the terrorist attacks 
in New York on September 11, 2001.
  I rise today to honor one of my constituents, James Parese, who is 
the Captain of the Staten Island Ferry, Samuel I Newhouse. On that 
terrible morning on September 11, Captain Parese was one of the 
countless private citizens on maritime vessels around Manhattan who 
immediately responded to an emergency message. Cackling across marine 
radios in New York's harbor--the Coast Guard summoned all boats and 
their crews to abandon their usual duties and respond to extraordinary 
needs in the New York waterways.
  Captain Parese explains that day himself best when he said, quote, 
``The subways were down, and they closed the bridges. We were basically 
the only way out. Us and the smaller ferries, the police boats and the 
tugs. I couldn't believe the amount of tugs; there were a sea of 
tugboats coming from Staten Island heading for Manhattan.''
  Since September 11th, we have heard so many human stories of tragedy, 
heroism, loss and miracles. We've heard the brave deeds of the New York 
firefighters and police officers. We will forever owe them our deepest 
gratitude.

[[Page 6270]]

  And today we honor one of America's maritime heroes--one of hundreds 
of private men and women who selflessly and quietly answered the call 
from the Coast Guard for ``all available boats''. The miraculous rescue 
and response effort by water has also permanently altered our nation's 
official approach to defending our homeland security along our 
coastline.
  The South Street Seaport Museum in New York City put together an 
exhibit to bring to light the historic maritime evacuation of Manhattan 
on September 11. I learned of these sailors from the book, All 
Available Boats. The book was put together and edited by Dr. Mike 
Magee, a doctor who happened to see the museum exhibit and felt 
strongly that these heroic stories deserved to be heard by the American 
people.
  Hundreds of non-military ship captains of all kinds of vessels--from 
ferries like Captain Parese to tugboats and from private vessels to 
even historic ships--answered the Coast Guard's call and sailed 
directly into Ground Zero.
  In the end, they evacuated over 300,000 people from Manhattan. It was 
the largest maritime evacuation since the battle of Dunkirk in 1940. 
Remarkable.
  After hearing the radio call on September 11, Captain Parese unloaded 
his ferry's passengers back onto Staten Island, turned around and 
steered his ferry directly into the Staten Island Ferry Loading Dock on 
Manhattan. There, thousands of people were pouring onto his boat to 
find a way to escape the terrorism on the island. People were literally 
jumping off the docks to try to hit the ferry's decks. One man said he 
was, quote, ``jumping for my life.''
  Captain Parese's ferry, already covered in ash, began to fill with 
smoke. Despite his eyes and lungs burning from the smoke, Parese stayed 
and loaded over 6,000 scared and desperate passengers onto his ferry. 
Because of the thick smoke, he was forced to use radar to steer the 
boat southbound. On reaching Staten Island, Parese unloaded his 
passengers. He immediately then turned his empty ferry around and 
headed straight back to Manhattan.
  Parese then rejoined the other ships' captains in their massive 
evacuation of Manhattan. Yet, during one of the most frightening days 
in our nation's history, we now have learned that our fellow citizens 
were not just rescued by these boats, they were shown kindness and 
comfort by these captains and their crewmates.
  Every man, woman and child who Captain Parese rescued from Manhattan 
is grateful to him for giving them an escape route, for his kind spirit 
and for his dedication to duty.
  On a different Staten Island Ferry than Parese's that day--was a boy, 
Tim Steto, a student at the Leadership High School in Manhattan. Tim 
and some other students caught the very last ferry from Battery City 
Park before it closed.
  After stumbling through the streets around Ground Zero in terror and 
confusion, Tim said that once the ferry took off from Manhattan--
quote--``there was a visible difference in the air quality. We looked 
back at this horrible scene then looked forward to see this clear, 
beautiful view of Staten Island. No clouds or smoke.'' And this young 
high school student said that--quote--``the thought of being taken to 
safety kept me calm.''
  After evacuating those three hundred thousand people from the 
Manhattan island, Parese and the other captains returned again to 
Ground Zero to volunteer to help with other vital tasks. They pumped 
water from the harbor to feed the fire hoses and brought in needed 
supplies.
  Also, with the bridges and tunnels closed, these boats became the 
necessary transportation for bringing firefighters, police and other 
emergency workers to Ground Zero from New Jersey and beyond.
  In one account after another of these stories, the captains and their 
shipmates worked without break, without fear and without instructions.
  September 11, 2001 was a day when average American men and women 
became heroes for their fellow Americans and for our nation. Those 
enemies of freedom around the world have always underestimated the 
determination, bravery, love of country and freedom of the American 
people.
  Captain Parese and the other brave patriot sailors that day are the 
finest example that the evil enemies of freedom can tear down our walls 
and tragically kill our citizens, but they will never quench the 
American spirit.
  I admire the bravery of my constituent, James Parese, as much as I 
admire his humility. He takes no special credit for his brave and 
tireless actions that day. He very simply says that--quote ``everyone 
pretty much did what they had to do''.
  James Parese, thank you from all of us in the United States House of 
Representatives for your brave and heroic acts that will never be 
forgotten by the thousands of people you brought to safety on September 
11. And thank you for continuing to go out every day to ferry the 
Staten Island citizens to Manhattan for work.
  Finally, we recognize and applaud all the hundreds of patriot sailors 
that tragic day who fearlessly answered our Coast Guard's call for 
``all available boats''. Their actions make all of us proud to be 
Americans and we salute their courage.
  God bless these unsung heroes and God always bless this great 
freedom-loving nation of the United States of America.

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