[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 133 (Friday, September 9, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        IN HONOR OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM MATHESON

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 9, 2011

  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, this anniversary is first, last and always 
a day of remembrance. The shock and horror of that day has receded. But 
all of us remember where we were on that morning when passenger jets 
became missiles, striking the twin towers of the World Trade Center. 
The mountains of debris left when they collapsed are gone. The Pentagon 
has long since been restored. The field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania 
is a burial ground still, where contemplation by those who return is 
reverent and sorrowful. Two Utahns were aboard one of the hijacked 
planes that struck the first tower; another Utahn died at his job in 
the Pentagon when a third jet crashed into it.
  The passing days brought much heartache. Not all Americans lost 
family members during the terrorist attacks, yet it felt as though we 
did. In the aftermath, many of us lit candles, mailed donations, flew 
our flag, and hugged our children more tightly at night as we tucked 
them into bed. The heroes of 9/11--members of the New York and Port 
Authority police departments and the New York City firefighters--
quickly replaced the frightening images of the hijackers. From across 
this country, ordinary people put comfortable lives on hold in order to 
join the rescue and recovery effort. Later on, thousands of men and 
women from all walks of life stepped forward, donned our country's 
uniform and took the fight to those who plotted against America. 
Terrorists tried to break America apart; instead, their actions brought 
Americans together.
  The September 11th attacks triggered American resilience. We worked 
hard to return to normal--a new kind of normal. As a Nation, we have 
made ourselves safer and more vigilant--at airports, on trains, on 
subways, at ports and in cyberspace. We strengthened intelligence and 
information sharing, we traced the money and shut down terrorist bank 
accounts, and we foiled al Qaeda. The U.S. and its allies have hunted 
down, captured or killed over 600 U.S. targets, including the 
masterminds of 9/11--Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and Osama bin Laden.
  Ultimately, it is America's courage and America's values that 
defeated the terrorists. As British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in 
an address to Congress, ``We are so much more powerful in all 
conventional ways than the terrorists. In the end, it is not our power 
alone that will defeat this evil. Our ultimate weapon is not our guns, 
but our beliefs.'' This anniversary is but one marker along the way to 
building on the dream that is our democratic Nation--the land of the 
free and the home of the brave.

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