We pause today in memory of the most devastating attack by a foreign enemy on American soil: The terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
Many lives were lost on Sept. 11, 2001, and many heroes emerged from the horror.
Two airliners crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Another crashed into the Pentagon. The sacrifice of courageous passengers prevented a fourth airliner from reaching its destination that many believe was the Capitol Building or The White House.
Civilians died trying to escape the destruction. Firefighters and police officers perished in desperate attempts to rescue people trapped in the skyscrapers. They did this knowing they could be doomed.
When the towers fell, the rescuers and those they were trying to save died.
Many brave emergency personnel and ordinary citizens doing what they could at the scene still suffer. The dust and debris affected their health forever.
The American people, speaking with one voice, vowed this would not happen again. We must not forget that vow or the victims of 9/11 who inspired the promise.
So many times we have declared we will never forget. Our history is strewn with patriotic slogans with "Remember" at their cores.
Unlike the past, terrorists remind us every day they will not forget and will try again. We cannot lose sight of their determination to repeat 9/11.
So we trumpet our challenge and our solemn vow: Never forget. Never. We owe it to the dead, to the living and to everyone to come.
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