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American Morning
New York's Bravest Displaying Some New Talents as Big Apple Goodwill Ambassadors
Aired March 04, 2002 - 09:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, New York's bravest are displaying some new talents, as Big Apple goodwill ambassadors. More than 200 New York City firefighters have fanned out across the country this weekend to personally thank people and their communities for the outpouring of support and prayers since 9/11. In Richmond, California, firefighters visited a school to thank the children for raising more than $1,000.
Gerard Chipura, of ladder company 148 in Brooklyn, got a real taste of Texas hospitality in Laredo. He unfortunately lost his brother on 9-11. He joins us from there this morning.
Good to see you, Gerard. What kind of welcome have you gotten?
GERARD CHIPURA, FDNY: Paula, thanks for having me here. The welcome is spectacular. People in Laredo, Texas are wonderful. They welcomed us with open arms.
ZAHN: And tell me why it was so important for you to make this trip?
CHIPURA: Well, I think it was good for us to come out and tell the country thank you very much for love and support and being there to help New York and Washington through a very difficult time.
ZAHN: And I understand that you did some videotaping of your own, and I think we have some of that in-house now. Actually we don't. What are some of the things that you were able to do while you were in Texas. We may not see it, but we certainly want to hear about it.
CHIPURA: We got to see a lot of the sites. There is a lot of rich history down here in Laredo. We actually went over the border to Mexico for dinner last night -- no, the night before last, and had a great time. And we were visiting a lot of firehouses, and today I have a couple of more places to go, and thank the people here, some college and some high school students and job core we're going to this afternoon.
ZAHN: I imagine it must bring you some comfort to get the kind of response you have all over the under. I know in New York City that people still salute firefighters. Has that pretty much been the experience wherever you've gone? CHIPURA: Absolutely. Absolutely. And when I came here to Laredo, I tried to tell the people of Laredo, thank your local firefighter and police officers. They do that every day here in their local towns, and we just happened to do it in New York City.
ZAHN: And tell me, if you could, some of the very personal things people have said to you as you've made these various stops along your tour?
CHIPURA: A lot of them are just actually coming out and hugging me, and hugging the firemen here, and thanking us, thanking for the job that we do every day.
ZAHN: And what do you hope will be the long-term impact of finally being able to thank all the people in your own personal way for the kind of support that they've showered upon firefighters everywhere?
CHIPURA: Well, yes, I guess is that they keep supporting us, you know.
ZAHN: Well, we wish you well. Good luck, and I'm delighted you were able to join us this morning to share a bit of the joy surrounding your good ambassadorship mission.
CHIPURA: Absolutely. Thanks for having me. It's been wonderful a weekend. Bye-bye now.
ZAHN: Good, good luck to you. Travel well.
CHIPURA: Thanks.
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