[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 14] [Senate] [Pages 19579-19581] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]THE PENTAGON MEMORIAL SERVICE Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, on this solemn day, one month since the horrific terrorist attacks on American citizens, our institutions, and our way of life, memorial services were held today in New York City and Arlington, VA. President Bush, whom I commend for his leadership and strong efforts to unify our Nation at this difficult time in our history, spoke today at the Pentagon ceremony honoring the victims of these attacks. His remarks were eloquent and very moving to the families and members of our armed forces who attended the service. I was asked to submit the President's remarks for the Record, and I am privileged to do so. I have also included the remarks of the Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard B. Meyers, USAF. Mr. President, I request unanimous consent that the remarks of the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff be printed in the Record, following my remarks. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: President Pays Tribute at Pentagon Memorial (Remarks by the President at the Department of Defense Service of Remembrance) The PRESIDENT. Please be seated. President and Senator Clinton, thank you all for being here. We have come here to pay our respects to 125 men and women who died in the service of America. We also remember 64 passengers on a hijacked plane; those men and women, boys and girls who fell into the hands of evildoers, and also died here exactly one month ago. On September 11th, great sorrow came to our country. And from that sorrow has come great resolve. Today, we are a nation awakened to the evil of terrorism, and determined to destroy it. That work began the moment we were attacked; and it will continue until justice is delivered. Americans are returning, as we must, to the normal pursuits of life. Americans are returning, as we must, to the normal pursuits of life. But we know that if you lost a son or daughter here, or a husband, or a wife, or a mom or dad, life will never again be as it was. The loss was sudden, and hard, and permanent. So difficult to explain. So difficult to accept. Three schoolchildren traveling with their teacher. An Army general. A budget analyst who reported to work here for 30 years. A lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve who left behind a wife, a four-year son, and another child on the way. One life touches so many others. One death can leave sorrow that seems almost unbearable. But to all of you who lost someone here, I want to say: You are not alone. The American people will never forget the cruelty that was done here and in New York, and in the sky over Pennsylvania. We will never forget all the innocent people killed by the hatred of a few. We know the loneliness you feel in your loss. The entire nation, entire nation shares in your sadness. And we pray for you and your loved ones. And we will always honor their memory. The hijackers were instruments of evil who died in vain. Behind them is a cult of evil which seeks to harm the innocent and thrives on human suffering. Theirs is the worst kind of cruelty, the cruelty that is fed, not weakened, by tears. Theirs is the worst kind of violence, pure malice, while daring to claim the authority of God. We cannot fully understand the designs and power of evil. It is enough to know that evil, like goodness, exists. And in the terrorists, evil has found a willing servant. In New York the terrorists chose as their target a symbol of America's freedom and confidence. Here, they struck a symbol of our strength in the world. And the attack on the Pentagon, on that day, was more symbolic than they knew. It was on another September 11th, September 11th, 1941, that construction on this building first began. America was just then awakening to another menace; The Nazi terror in Europe. And on that very night, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke to the nation. The danger, he warned, has long ceased to be a mere possibility. The danger is here now. Not only from a military enemy, but from an enemy of all law, all liberty, all morality, all region. For us too, in the year 2001, an enemy has emerged that rejects every limit of law, morality, and religion. The terrorists have no true home in any country, or culture, or faith. They dwell in dark corners of earth. And there, we will find them. This week, I have called, this week, I have called the Armed Forces into action. One by one, we are eliminating power centers of a regime that harbors al Qaeda terrorists. We gave that regime a choice: Turn over the terrorists, or face your ruin. They close unwisely. The Taliban regime has brought nothing but fear and misery to the people of Afghanistan. These rulers call themselves holy men, even with their record of drawing money from heroin trafficking. They consider themselves pious and devout, while subjecting women to fierce brutality. The Taliban has allied itself with murderers and gave them shelter. But today, for al Qaeda and the Taliban, there is no shelter. As Americans did 60 years ago, we have entered a struggle of uncertain duration. But now, as then, we can be certain of the outcome, because we have a number of decisive assets. We have a unified country. We have the patience to fight and win on many fronts: Blocking terrorist plans, seizing their funds, arresting their networks, disrupting their communications, opposing their sponsors. And we have one more great asset in this cause: The brave men and women of the United States military. From my first days in this office, I have felt and seen the strong spirit of the Armed Forces. I saw it Fort Stewart, Georgia, when I first reviewed our troops as Commander-in- Chief, and looked into the faces of proud and determined soldiers. I saw it in Annapolis on a graduation day, at Camp Pendleton in California, Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo. And I [[Page 19580]] have seen this spirit at the Pentagon, before and after the attack on this building. You've responded to a great emergency with calm and courage. And for that, your country honors you. A Commander- in-Chief must know, must know that he can count on the skill and readiness of servicemen and women at every point in the chain of command. You have given me that confidence. And I give you these commitments. The wound to this building will not be forgotten, but it will be repaired. Brick by brick, we will quickly rebuild the Pentagon. In the missions ahead for the military, you will have everything you need, every resource, every weapon, every means to assure full victory for the United States and the cause of freedom. And I pledge to you that America will never relent on this war against terror. There will be times of swift, dramatic action. There will be times of steady, quiet progress. Over time, with patience, and precision, the terrorists will be pursued. They will be isolated, surrounded, cornered, until there is no place to run, or hide, or rest. As military and civilian personnel in the Pentagon, you are an important part of the struggle we have entered. You know the risks of your calling, and you have willingly accepted them. You believe in our country, and our country believes in you. Within sight of this building is Arlington Cemetery, the final resting place of many thousands who died for our country over the generations. Enemies of America have now added to these graves, and they wish to add more. Unlike our enemies, we value every life, and we mourn every loss. Yet we're not afraid. Our cause is just, and worthy of sacrifice. Our nation is strong of heart, firm of purpose. Inspired by all the courage that has come before, we will meet our moment and we will prevail. May God bless you all, and may God bless America. ____ Memorial Service in Remembrance of Those Lost on September 11 (Remarks Prepared for Delivery by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, The Pentagon, Arlington, VA, Thursday, October 11, 2001) We are gathered here because of what happened here on September 11th. Events that bring to mind tragedy--but also our gratitude to those who came to assist that day and afterwards, those we saw at the Pentagon site everyday--the guards, police, fire and rescue workers, the Defense Protective service, hospitals, Red Cross, family center professionals and volunteers and many others. And yet our reason for being here today is something else. We are gathered here to remember, to console and to pray. To remember comrades and colleagues, friends and family members, those lost to us on Sept. 11th. We remember them as heroes. And we are right to do so. They died because, in words of justification offered by their attackers, they were Americans. They died, then, because of how they lived--as free men and women, proud of their freedom, proud of their country and proud of their country's cause--the cause of human freedom. And they died for another reason--the simple fact they worked here in this building--the Pentagon. It is seen as a place of power, the locus of command for what has been called the greatest accumulation of military might in history. And yet a might used far differently than the long course of history has usually known. In the last century, this building existed to oppose two totalitarian regimes that sought to oppress and to rule other nations. And it is no exaggeration of historical judgment to say that without this building, and those who worked here, those two regimes would not have been stopped or thwarted in their oppression of countless millions. But just as those regimes sought to rule and oppress, others in this century seek to do the same by corrupting a noble religion. Our President has been right to see the similarity--and to say that the fault, the evil is the same. It is the will to power, the urge to dominion over others, to the point of oppressing them, even to taking thousands of innocent lives--or more. And that this oppression makes the terrorist a believer--not in the theology of God, but the theology of self--and in the whispered words of temptation: ``Ye shall be as Gods.'' In targeting this place, then, and those who worked here, the attackers, the evildoers correctly sensed that the opposite of all they were, and stood for, resided here. Those who worked here--those who on Sept. 11 died here-- whether civilians or in uniform--side by side they sought not to rule, but to serve. They sought not to oppress, but to liberate. They worked not to take lives, but to protect them. And they tried not to preempt God, but see to it His creatures lived as He intended--in the light and dignity of human freedom. Our first task then is to remember the fallen as they were--as they would have wanted to be remembered--living in freedom, blessed by it, proud of it and willing--like so many others before them, and like so many today, to die for it. And to remember them as believers in the heroic ideal for which this nation stands and for which this building exists-- the ideal of service to country and to others. Beyond all this, their deaths remind us of a new kind of evil, the evil of a threat and menace to which this nation and the world has now fully awakened, because of them. In causing this awakening, then, the terrorists have assured their own destruction. And those we mourn today, have, in the moment of their death, assured their own triumph over hate and fear. For out of this act of terror--and the awakening it brings--here and across the globe--will surely come a victory over terrorism. A victory that one day may save millions from the harm of weapons of mass destruction. And this victory--their victory--we pledge today. But if we gather here to remember them--we are also here to console those who shared their lives, those who loved them. And yet, the irony is that those whom we have come to console have given us the best of all consolations, by reminding us not only of the meaning of the deaths, but of the lives of their loved ones. ``He was a hero long before the eleventh of September,'' said a friend of one of those we have lost--``a hero every single day, a hero to his family, to his friends and to his professional peers.'' A veteran of the Gulf War--hardworking, who showed up at the Pentagon at 3:30 in the morning, and then headed home in the afternoon to be with his children--all of whom he loved dearly, but one of whom he gave very special care, because she needs very special care and love. About him and those who served with him, his wife said: ``It's not just when a plane hits their building. They are heroes every day.'' ``Heroes every day.'' We are here to affirm that. And to do this on behalf of America. And also to say to those who mourn, who have lost loved ones: Know that the heart of America is here today, and that it speaks to each one of you words of sympathy, consolation, compassion and love. All the love that the heart of America-- and a great heart it is--can muster. Watching and listening today, Americans everywhere are saying: I wish I could be there to tell them how sorry we are, how much we grieve for them. And to tell them too, how thankful we are for those they loved, and that we will remember them, and recall always the meaning of their deaths and their lives. A Marine chaplain, in trying to explain why there could be no human explanation for a tragedy such as this, said once: ``You would think it would break the heart of God.'' We stand today in the midst of tragedy--the mystery of tragedy. Yet a mystery that is part of that larger awe and wonder that causes us to bow our heads in faith and say of those we mourn, those we have lost, the words of scripture: ``Lord now let Thy servants go in peace, Thy word has been fulfilled.'' To the families and friends of our fallen colleagues and comrades we extend today our deepest sympathy and condolences--and those of the American people. We pray that God will give some share of the peace that now belongs to those we lost, to those who knew and loved them in this life. But as we grieve together we are also thankful--for their lives, thankful for the time we had with them. And proud too--as proud as they were--that they lived their lives as Americans. We are mindful too--and resolute that their deaths, like their lives, shall have meaning. And that the birthright of human freedom--a birthright that was theirs as Americans and for which they died--will always be ours and our children's. And through our efforts and example, one day, the birthright of every man, woman, and child on earth. ____ Remarks of General Richard B. Myers, USAF, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon Memorial Service Ladies and gentlemen, Today we remember family members, friends, and colleagues lost in the barbaric attack on the Pentagon--civilian and military Pentagon employees, the contractors who support us, and the passengers and crew of Flight 77. We also grieve with the rest of America and the world for those killed in New York City and Pennsylvania. We gather to comfort each other and to honor the dead. Our DOD colleagues working in the Pentagon that day would insist that they were only doing their jobs. But we know better. We know, and they knew, that they were serving their country. And suddenly, on 11 September they were called to make the ultimate sacrifice. For that, we call them heroes. We honor the heroism of defending our Nation. We honor the heroism and taking an oath to support the Constitution. We honor the heroism of standing ready to serve the greater good of our society. That same heroism was on display at the Pentagon in the aftermath of the attack. Co-workers, firefighters, police officers, medics--even private citizens driving past on the highway--all rushed to help and put themselves in grave danger to rescue survivors and treat the injured. [[Page 19581]] One of them, who I had a chance to meet recently, was Army Sergeant Adis Goodwill, a young emergency medical technician. She drove the first ambulance from Walter Reed Army Hospital to arrive at the scene. Sergeant Goodwill spent long hours treating the wounded-- simply doing her duty--all the while not knowing, and worrying about, the fate of her sister, Lia, who worked in the World Trade Center. She would eventually learn that Lia was OK. Prior to 11 September, Sergeant Goodwill hadn't decided whether to reenlist in the Army or not. After the tragic events of that day, her course was clear. And three weeks ago, I had the privilege of reenlisting her. With tears of pride in their eyes, her family, including her sister Lia, watched her take the oath of office. Sergeant Goodwill is with us today. The heroes kept coming in the days following the 11th-- individual volunteers, both civilian and military; firefighters; police officers; and civil and military rescue units working on the site. Other Americans helped too, as General Van Alstyne said, with donations of equipment supplies, and food; letters and posters from school children; and American flags everywhere. Today, we mourn our losses, but we should also celebrate the spirit of the heroes of 11 September, both living and dead, and the heroic spirit that remains at the core of our great Nation. This is what our enemies do not understand. They can knock us off stride for a moment or two. But then, we will gather ourselves with an unmatched unity of purpose and will rise to defend the ideals that make this country a beacon of hope around the world. In speaking of those ideals, John Quincy Adams once said, ``I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to . . . support and defend these states; yet, through all the gloom I can see the rays of light and glory.'' The light and glory of our ideals remain within our grasp. That's what our heroes died for. Some of them--the uniformed military members--made the commitment to fight for, and if necessary, to die for our country from the beginnings of their careers. Our civilian DOD employees had chosen to serve in a different way but are now bound to their uniformed comrades in the same sacrifice. Other victims, employees of contractors and the passengers and crew of the airliner, were innocents--casualties of a war not of their choosing. But if by some miracle, we were able to ask all of them today whether a Nation and government such as ours is worth their sacrifices; if we were able to ask them today whether that light and glory is worth future sacrifices; the answer, surely, would be a resounding ``yes.'' The terrorists who perpetrated this violence should know that there are millions more American patriots who echo that resounding yes. We who defend this Nation say to those who threaten us-- here we stand--resolute in our allegiance to the Constitution; united in our service to the American people and the preservation of our way of life; undaunted in our devotion to duty and honor. We remember the dead. We call them heroes, not because they died, but because they lived in service to the greater good. We know that's small comfort to those who have lost family members and dear friends. To you, this tragedy is very personal, and our thoughts and our prayers are with you. We will never forget the sacrifices of your loved ones. We ask God to bless and keep them. We pray for their families, and we also pray for wisdom and courage as we face the many challenges to come. And may God bless America. ____________________