[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17717-17718]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           OH SAY CAN WE SEE?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Madam Speaker, lying aboard a British warship in 
Baltimore Harbor, Francis Scott Key listened through the night as 
shells rained down on Fort McHenry. The small, undermanned garrison 
suddenly found itself under the attack of the greatest Navy in the 
world. One thousand American soldiers were charged with the daunting 
task of defending Fort McHenry against 30 British warships and 
thousands of enemy ground troops. The bombs fell for 25 straight hours. 
Many hit their target. Others burst overhead, raining shrapnel on the 
soldiers below. When the rocket explosions ceased on the morning of 
September 14, 1814, Key surely thought that Fort McHenry had been 
taken.
  Straining to see through the smoke that hung over the water in the 
early morning light, Key wiped away tears to see the Stars and Stripes 
still flying defiantly over that battered fort. The Americans had 
achieved the unthinkable. They had bravely held their position against 
all odds. The magnificent sight moved Key to pen the words that have 
stirred American hearts ever since, the Star-Spangled Banner.
  Two weeks ago, 187 years after the defense of Fort McHenry, our 
Nation stared in horror at the smoke hanging over New York City and 
Washington, D.C. We looked on in disbelief as the towers of the World 
Trade Center crumbled before our very eyes. Yet out of the destruction 
shone a beacon of hope. Wiping tears from our eyes, we watched modern 
heroes, New York's firefighters, raising the Stars and Stripes atop the 
mountain of rubble. The comparison to Iwo Jima is inescapable.
  Madam Speaker, the attack on America was not an attempt to defeat our 
Army. It was an organized plan to destroy the lives of innocent 
Americans. It was a direct assault on the American spirit. The 
terrorists succeeded in killing thousands of our fellow citizens, but 
they can never kill the American spirit.
  Napoleon once said, ``The great soldiers run to the sound of the 
guns.'' Consider the heroism of the passengers aboard United Flight 93 
who attacked their hijackers. They saved thousands of lives on the 
ground and perhaps the most precious symbols of our Nation. We will 
never forget the firefighters who gave their lives when they 
courageously rushed into the burning towers as others streamed out. Now 
we see the quiet heroism of rescue workers who continue to dig 
tirelessly through the rubble in hopes of finding just one survivor. 
These Americans stand on the shoulders of the defenders of Fort 
McHenry.
  Throughout our history, many adversaries have underestimated the 
steely resolve of the American spirit. They underestimate us now. We 
have been called to action, to demonstrate the virtues that make this a 
great Nation. At a similar hour, Winston Churchill said, ``Do not let 
us speak of darker days. Let us speak, rather, of sterner days. These 
are not dark days. These are great days, the greatest days our country 
has ever lived. We must all thank God that we have been allowed, each 
of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days 
memorable in the history of our race.''
  Madam Speaker, as we declare war on terrorism around the world, the

[[Page 17718]]

American flag will inspire us just as it inspired Francis Scott Key. It 
will serve as a notice to our adversaries. Though bruised and bloodied, 
we remain unbowed. The authors of terror may never understand the words 
of our national anthem, but they will come to understand the spirit 
that it embodies. We will turn our rage into moral outrage. When the 
dust of battle clears, America will remain the land of the free and the 
home of the brave.
  Madam Speaker, to victory. May God bless America.

                          ____________________