PALM HARBOR, FL (WFLA) Hundreds of people attended the Curlew Hills Memory Gardens annual 9/11 memorial service on Sunday.
The event featured keynote speaker, Lee Ielpi, a retired New York City firefighter who lost his son, also a member of FDNY, on 9/11.
“People use the world closure, there is no such word in my language as the only closure you could give me is that I could hug my son again,” Ielpi said.
Iepi’s son, 29-year-old Jonathan Ielpi, went into the twin towers to help others but never came back out. He’s one of the 343 firefighters killed that day.
“It spoke volumes about our fire service, and the dedication fireman have towards you, the people,” he shared.
Governor Ron DeSantis also attended and spoke at the memorial along with Florida Speaker of the House, Chris Sprowls.