[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 11, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1133-E1134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS OF 
                                  9/11

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 11, 2019

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, everyone remembers where they 
were and what they were doing--I was here in Washington chairing a 
Veterans' Affairs Committee

[[Page E1134]]

hearing--when a group of cowards hijacked 4 airliners in order to 
perpetrate the worst act of terrorism in American history.
  Nearly 700 New Jerseyans lost their lives that day.
  No-one remembers the shock, horror and numbing sorrow more, however, 
than the families and close friends of the victims.
  Because it was a surprise attack, there was no chance to fight back 
that day although when Todd Beamer and other passengers learned what 
happened to the Twin Towers, Todd famously said ``let's roll'' and they 
attacked the terrorists on board the flight that crashed in a 
Pennsylvania field.
  Who can forget the courageous first responders running up the stairs 
of the burning buildings--with total disregard for their own safety--
saving some at the expense of their own lives.
  On the morning of 9/11, I got a mere glimpse--I say again, a mere 
glimpse--into the sense of horror suffered by the victim's families 
when I couldn't reach my own brother Tom--an American Airlines 757 
Captain who often piloted Flight 11 from Logan to LA, the flight that 
crashed into the North Tower.
  Evacuated from the Capitol and stuck in traffic within sight of the 
burning Pentagon, cell phones were all but gridlocked. About noon I got 
through. He and his flight attendant wife Sandy were safe but were in 
anguish because they knew the pilots and crew on board Flight 11.
  For 18 years, the families and friends of those who died that day and 
since have had to endure their loss and a broken heart.
  Both then--and now eighteen years later--words are inadequate to 
convey our empathy for those who died and for the victims' families.
  For many, their faith in God has helped them survive and overcome.

                          ____________________