[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18018]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    REFLECTING ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning we in the Senate honor the 
memory of the victims of the September 11 attacks. Tomorrow, all 
Americans will take time from the regular course of their weekend to do 
the same--to reflect in their own personal way on the terrible events 
of 3 years ago.
  The essence of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, remains self-
evident: The victims were innocent. They were simply going about their 
daily lives, working at their desks, answering emergency calls, 
traveling on business or vacation.
  All had families who loved them and still love them to this day. I 
think of Brenda Vandever of Farragut, TN. She lost her brother, Tony 
Karnes, in the attack on the World Trade Center Towers. Brenda recently 
said:

       I got over the car crash that my other brother died in, and 
     I dealt with it when my mom and dad died. But Tony went to 
     work that day thinking just like we do, that nothing is going 
     to happen. You just don't get over that.

  We all feel a profound sadness for those who lost loved ones on that 
fateful day. There is little we can say or do to fill the immense void 
in their hearts. But we can hope and we can pray that one day the 
wounds of those who still hurt may heal.
  September 11 impressed upon us that life is a precious gift. Every 
life has a purpose. And I think we all have a duty to devote at least a 
small portion of our daily lives to ensuring that neither America nor 
the world ever forgets September 11.
  Something that Karyn and I did was to take our three boys, our three 
sons, to New York City to visit Ground Zero soon after the attacks. We 
wanted to sear in their minds a lasting and vivid memory of the worst 
that evil can do in the world but at the same time the best that we can 
do in America.
  Our Nation will, of course, always remember the courage of the 
emergency workers who rushed to Ground Zero on that fateful day; who 
rushed to help in Shanksville, PA; who rushed to the Pentagon just a 
mile from here. These heroes risked their lives, and many lost their 
lives, so that others may live--or at the very least their families 
could live--in peace.
  Within 24 hours of when terrorists crashed flight 77 into the 
Pentagon, 76 members of the Tennessee Task Force 1 were on the scene 
and were hard at work. They were dispatched to rescue but soon 
discovered that their work would be recovery.
  Ken Reeves, a Memphis Fire Department battalion chief, recalled:

       I think everybody in the country was of the mindset, ``Just 
     let me have something to do,'' and we had something to do.

  Well, they sure did. Tennessee Task Force 1 toiled 16 hours a day for 
9 straight days. They slept on cots in a warehouse not too far from 
here, without air-conditioning. They often lost track of time, devoting 
every second of the day, every ounce of energy and attention, to a task 
that was as difficult and as gruesome as it was grueling.
  September 11, 2001, drastically altered the future course of our 
Nation. It also profoundly changed our individual lives. We will 
forever be touched by the outpouring of compassion, the outpouring of 
charity, and the kindness of millions of our citizens and people all 
around the world.
  Brenda Vandever said of what she hopes for this and future 
anniversaries: ``I just don't want [Tony] to be forgotten.''
  To Brenda and to all of the families who lost their loved ones on 
that morning of September 11, 2001, I say this morning: Your loved ones 
will not be forgotten. We will remember them, we will honor them, and 
we will cherish them on this day, every year, for as long as God wills 
this Nation to endure.
  I yield the floor.

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