[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19411-19412]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     TRIBUTE TO PENTAGON VOLUNTEERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Schrock). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, soon after the tragic events of September 11, 
I went down to the Pentagon so that I could witness firsthand the 
destruction that was visited upon that spectacular building. As I made 
my way through the security lines and came to the perimeter that had 
been set up about 75 to 100 yards away from the actual destruction, I 
looked up and saw in full glimpse what a gaping hole that really was. 
The smoke and the ashes were still wafting from the rubble.
  The next noticeable thing, which everyone had to observe who visited 
that scene, were hundreds of people still working in the rubble, 
sorting out different objects, pulling bodies and parts of bodies from 
the wreckage, and engaged in humanitarian efforts the like of which I 
hope we never see again but which were part of the normal scene at the 
Pentagon in that moment.
  What was more amazing than anything was that in the second perimeter 
back of the immediate stage of recovery was something like a ring of 
covered wagons that we used to see in the Wild West movies, and these 
wagons were the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, McDonald's, and 
different food and beverage outfits that had, in effect, set up what 
they called a unity village, where the workers, who were exhausted, 
could go back and lie down for an hour, they had rest areas, or they 
could get a cup of coffee, or a full meal at some of the places.
  These people were there 24 hours a day, volunteers from various 
sectors of the country, to aid and to help the people who were helping 
the victims and who were sorting out the wreckage. This was an amazing 
site, one that requires us to make sure that it finds its way into the 
Congressional Record. That is why I am here tonight.
  Among those outfits was a Salvation Army unit from Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania, the heart of my district. I spoke with some of the 
Salvation Army people there and was informed that within minutes of the 
crash into the Pentagon, within minutes, there were people on the scene 
rendering assistance.

                              {time}  2030

  Within an hour, most of the governmental authorities were on the 
scene. Within 2 hours, most of the philanthropic and service 
organizations like the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army had 
established these extra perimeters. Out of this supreme tragedy, like 
in New York and the Pentagon, arose the American spirit which we still 
celebrate and which we have learned tonight will be further celebrated 
tomorrow with a nationwide Pledge of Allegiance coordinated at 2 p.m. 
eastern time. That is part of what has come out of rubble in real 
effect.
  I will be providing for the Record the names of the people from 
central Pennsylvania, the 17th Congressional District, who did 
participate in the events of recovery in New York and at the Pentagon. 
The State of Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency rushed to the 
scene with its volunteers. We had the National Guard from Pennsylvania 
and other entities eager to do what they could in the wake of those 
tragedies in New York and the Pentagon.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful to our fellow citizens for coming to 
the aid of their fellow citizens; and as we begin the work of amassing 
the recovery efforts with the help of the funding from the Congress and 
the volunteer work that is yet to be done, I think we can all be proud 
of the fact that tragic as it was, that tragedy bore fruit in the

[[Page 19412]]

renewed spirit exhibited in our country.

                          ____________________


  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Schrock). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  (Ms. SANCHEZ addressed the House. Her remarks will appear hereafter 
in the Extensions of Remarks.)

                          ____________________