Alive loving hearts of kids
Out of the mouths of babes. Some of the most heart-tugging moments of Saturday’s 9/11 commemoration came when young children — all born long after the deaths of the grandparents they wished to honor — stood at the podium to help read out the names of the terror attack’s nearly 3,000 victims.
“For my grandfather, Michael San Phillip,” Charlotte Spero told the crowd of mourners on the 9/11 Memorial Plaza in lower Manhattan as she paid tribute to her grandfather, an investment banker who worked in the South Tower.
“Who I was never able to meet, but I’m pretty sure we would have had a lot of fun together,” she said with a smile.
Mina Clemente, 9, had a special request for her grandfather, Cesar Amoranto Alviar, an accountant with Marsh McLennan.
“Thank you for watching over us,” the little girl said. “And please convince Mommy to get us a husky someday.”
“She totally surprised me with the dog thing,” Mina’s mother, Gemma Alviar, told The Post. “OK, no pressure there, saying that on national television — I guess we have to deliver.”
Emma Bowie made a promise to her grandfather, Martin John Coughlan, a carpenter who happened to be doing renovation work in the towers that day.
“I will always carry on your legacy and spirit,” she vowed. “I’ll never forget you.”
Amanda Froehlich had high praise for her grandfather, Philip T. Hayes, the World Trade Center’s fire-safety director, who was killed soon after he saved children from a day-care center in the complex.
“You will always be my hero,” Amanda said. “I’ve heard so many amazing stories about you, and you are such a great role model as my grandpa.”
But Jake DiVirgilio’s simple words said it all when he spoke of his grandfather, bond broker David Francis Ferrugio.
“We all miss you,” the young boy said as he strained to reach the microphone. “And even though I didn’t get to meet you, I still love you.”