A Piece of Glass, in Memory of Thomas Butler of Squad One

Floor Speech

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Mr. GARBARINO. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a poetic tribute in honor of Thomas Butler and his father, William. I presented to his family on the day of his funeral after his father had given me a piece of glass from the World Trade Center where Thomas died. I include in the Record this poem, penned by Albert Caswell. A Piece of Glass (by Albert Carey Caswell) A Father and a Hero who raised a fine son A man who dedicated his entire life to saving others this one As too his fine son's life journey had just begun His little boy, his pride and joy as one day too he'd follow his father's most courageous footsteps his son And try as he may, this most splendid of all men who so many had saved, could not but save his own most precious of all ones A piece of glass now in my hands As once before stood so very grand Within your two great Twin Towers, gracing this fair city throughout all the hours as high above a majestic skyline you ran

With your twin bright beacons of hope, and your islands of ingenuity and determination to all hearts spoke With your Gotham Tributes to all of Womankind and Man which invoked And from that first day begun As a construction worker peering out through you up towards the rising sun Until, that final opening day When, your most magnificent fruition was portrayed, in this your most historic of all runs

And with each new succeeding day

While, gazing through you and pressing hands all upon you as would they And how many countless hours, throughout all those snow storms, blizzards, thunder storms and rain showers When, upon a bright beautiful spring day, planning their escapes, counting the minutes . . . to the seconds . . . the hours Running down below to their most beloved ones so, as there they would come rushing out of your most majestic of all Towers And how many weddings were so amassed? With, young hearts here so enamored as the time had passed As it was all here along love's path And how about all those most beautiful babies born, from all those true fine loves warmed here so to last Ah yes, as it was in this the most magnificent of all buildings, which held so many hearts at bay with the spells that they'd cast On 9/11, while looking out you on that fine fall day Up towards those jet blue skies as the white clouds drifted on by and far away As so unsuspectingly their own death's they could not for see, unaware of what dreaded dark death and dark evil before them now lay Perhaps, with but thoughts of loved ones beating in their hearts on that day, at what was to be their last and most tragically heroic of all days And `Oh . . . . but did you so see all of those planes coming crashing in and so wince? While, watching in such shock and in horror at all of its most vulgar carnage

At the lost of all those fine innocents As down below you witnessed all those brave hearts, magnificent souls gallantly rushing in without regard of consequence Our most fearless firefighters, and most precious police, and brave citizen saviors who stayed armed with but only their beliefs And 'oh how it must have shattered you to see All of those splendid people, women and men Together holding hands, jumping off in such misery and grief As I ask you now, did Tommy in those last final moments While, looking through you think of his most beloved family out too his heart reached. As he came rushing up the stairs on his way to Heaven, passing death's cold stare to our Lord speaks As he stood there, as one of the most courageous of all ones So Magnificently Bill Butler's fine son And from this day of all days what are we all here to so take With all such grief and so much horrendous heartache That still within our beating hearts, within its rhythm something far much more greater now to take And from all of their most tragic deaths of which we are now left Are all those bright lights as Angels names up in Heaven now bless Comes this great consolation in hearts knowing, that all those who heroically died to Heaven surely rose up no less Burying our babies, our daughters and sons for there can be no greatest pain for a parent begun While, there in the darkness all alone, our Lord sees and hear's your most desperate of all moans Up in Heaven our Lord in his love cries, as his tears wash down upon us when there comes a gentle rain from his eyes To ease our pain for all our lost daughters and sons Somehow find the strength until your reunited again A piece of glass as given to me By a wonderful Father, all in the midst of this his families most dark tragedy Forever and a day, as with me this his most precious of all gift's will stay To be ever revered in my family As it's with chills I now stand . . . with quivering hands, remembering the sacred name of a hero named Thomas Butler eternally And from this day on a great lesson as born, to teach my children of Thomas's sacrifice so warm And for the generations to come, I shall plant those seeds of his faith to all of my children and theirs among Of all those like Thomas who died and sacrificed like Christ to Kingdom Come About all their selfless seeds of faith, courage and sacrifice With their greatest gifts but for the greater good to give up ones life

To nourish others' souls about Thomas's life Remembering 9/11 and all those fine heroes, and all their sacred gifts who which did not to think twice A piece of glass, was once but just mere sand As it is we who here who are made up of flesh and blood and hands Who here with hearts and souls and courageous acts and in our tears now stand Goodness . . . Evil . . . Darkness . . . Light In the moment of truth will we burn bright? Will we reside in the darkness or choose rise up in the light? And for all those who do, are but our Lord's chosen people in his heart burns bright As we peer back through time looking back upon this the very soul of Woman and Mankind That on this day we fully understand That buildings can rise, and in time may not stand

But, in our Lord's heart There are far greater thing's which command

Which, leaves him in awe Of the most sacred of all gifts to understand All those who give up one's life for another will rest in God's hands As here I stand, with a sacred piece of glass in my hands Forever and a day, these lessons of sacrifice and Thomas I'll take on my way

And a sacred piece of glass given to me by a wonderful man

In Memory of Thomas Butler and all the Heroes of 9/11, on Sunday May 26, 2002. I took the families of the Memorial Day Concert on a tour of the Capitol, Thomas Butler's Father Bill Butler presented A Piece of Glass from the World Trade Center to me in the crypt of the United States Capitol building after I had recited 2 poems about the Heroes of 9/11. I went to his son's funeral in Long Island and printed this poem to his family.

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