The NYPD honored its officers who died in the September 11th attacks in a new way, with a bagpipe procession down the Canyon of Heroes and through Lower Manhattan. NY1's Michael Scotto filed the following report.
Bagpipes echoed across Broadway as the NYPD marched in honor of the police officers who died in the September 11th attacks.
The procession was led by the NYPD Emerald Society and included police bagpipers from across the country. It started near Cedar Street and concluded in Battery Park City, at the NYPD memorial honoring fallen officers.
It was there that the ceremony turned somber. The names of the 23 NYPD officers and the 37 Port Authority police officers who died on September 11, 2001 were read aloud.
Sophia Suarez lost her father, Ramone Suarez, on 9/11 when the towers collapsed.
"Fifteen years," Sophia Suarez said. "I would love to say it gets easier, but it really doesn't get any easier."
That is especially true for the relatives of police officers who have died in the years following the terrorist attack.
Faith Fishkin's father succumbed to pancreatic cancer last year. His name was read along with those of the other NYPD officers who have died from 9/11-related illnesses.
"It's great to hear his name knowing he helped so many people," Fishkin said.
For the people who just happened to be in the area Friday, it was hard not to think about what happened 15 years ago.
Watching the procession were many people who were here on September 11, 2001 and vividly remember that day, including one woman who saw the attack unfold.
"I saw when the plane actually hit the building. I actually saw it with my eyes, yes. Don't take me there," the woman said.
It was a memory she didn't want to relive.
Police Commissioner William Bratton attempted to find some light amid the darkness.
"Guardians at the gates of the city in life, they stand now as guardians at the gates of heaven," he said.