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to see the 9/11 ceremony at Citi Field

It was an amazing honor to perform with the DSNY pipe and drum band at Citi Field on 9/11/2011. The Mets organization did a phenomenal job with the ceremony. It was poignant and beautiful.

We were in the Mets media room with the other pipe bands when John Franco, Joe McEwing and Matt Franco stopped in to say hello and thank us for being there. It's moments like these that remind you why you play. You play for the love and the joy it brings other people.

It was nerve wracking to step off because the line of march was so long, you couldn't hear the music at times. Stepping out on that field in front of all those people was awe-inspiring. We marched around the infield and stopped at shortstop. When we stopped playing, the people cheered and the tears flowed.

They had a moment of silence that was so quiet, you could hear the wind blowing. Looking at the whole field with the huge American flag on the Jumbotron was amazing. It gave me chills and filled me with pride. We marched out and I looked in the eyes of people in the stands. There was a moment of joy in all of the sadness, it was very touching. We did our job and we did it well.

Nothing can match the sacrifices made by FDNY, NYPD and PAPD on 9/11, but DSNY gave it their all with the rescue, recovery and cleanup in the days following 9/11. The band was proud to represent DSNY while honoring our fellow brothers and sisters who lost their lives on that day.

Eddie Hicks