A seaside naturalization ceremony was held at the base of the Fire Island Lighthouse on Friday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks told attendees it "was the first sight for many immigrants before they even caught a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty."

The ceremony welcomed 50 people as U.S. citizens, with 11 of them service members. They each took an oath of allegiance, said the Pledge of Allegiance and received certificates.

The ceremony was held on Sept. 11, 25 years after the deadly attacks that forever changed the country.

"It's fitting that on a day so tied to grief and resilience that we also mark new beginnings, because that has always been the American answer to tragedy: to keep opening our doors, to keep welcoming those who choose to become one of us," Wicks said.

U.S. Circuit Judge Joseph F. Bianco, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held up the famous photograph of first responders raising a flag at ground zero.

"They took a moment to do that because, wherever that red white and blue flies, no matter what the circumstances, it represents the values that we all share as a nation," Bianco said. "Values that are bigger than any one of us."