[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 24099]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE FIRST RESPONDERS OF SEPTEMBER 11

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, 6 years ago today, most Americans were going 
about their business, and then we woke up to the next day, September 
11, 2001. I was not yet in Congress at that time, but I was a judge in 
Texas. And I was driving to the courthouse when I was listening to 
country western music, and it was interrupted about an airplane that 
crashed into the World Trade Center. And a few minutes later, a second 
airplane crashed into the World Trade Center.
  And about that time, as I was driving my jeep, I noticed that other 
folks on the road had pulled off to the side of the road, all doing the 
same thing, listening to the radio, hearing the news from New York. And 
then we heard more news. We heard about a third airplane, where some 
good folks in Pennsylvania took matters into their own hands. And later 
we learned why that plane crashed in Pennsylvania; it did not crash in 
Washington, DC at the White House or even this Capitol. And finally, we 
heard about a fourth airplane, a plane that crashed not far from here 
into the Pentagon.
  And at the end of that day, like many Americans, I was watching 
television and noticed all of the news reports about the World Trade 
Center and about the Pentagon, and followed that day, as most 
Americans, intensely observing and being concerned about our country.
  As I was watching television that afternoon, over the skies of 
Houston, Texas, where I'm from, the 147th Air National Guard were 
flying those F-16s on patrol over our skies and over our refineries, 
over our ports. But as I was watching television, I noticed that when 
those planes hit the World Trade Center, that there were thousands and 
thousands of people, good people, people of all races, all 
nationalities, both sexes and all ages, when those planes hit the World 
Trade Center, they were trying to get away from that terror in the sky 
as fast as they could. They were running as hard as they could. Nothing 
wrong with that, but that's what they were doing, fleeing that enemy 
that attacked us on our soil.
  But I also noticed that there was another group of people, not very 
many, but as soon as those planes hit the World Trade Center, they were 
running as hard as they could to get to that terror that had crashed 
into our buildings in New York City. Who were they? Emergency medical 
technicians, firefighters and police officers, because that's what they 
do; they respond first to terror, domestic or international.
  And while today, Mr. Speaker, it is very important that we remember 
the thousands of people who died on September 11, 2001, it's equally 
important that we remember the people who lived, that were allowed to 
live because our police officers, our firefighters and our emergency 
technical folks were on the job, saving those lives of those people who 
were in the World Trade Center. Amazing Americans, those individuals, 
many of whom lost friends that were trying to get into the World Trade 
Center, people that they had known all their lives, but they did it 
because it is their duty and because it was the right thing to do.
  Of course we have to remember and need to remember the plane that 
crashed into the Pentagon as well. And across the street from the 
Pentagon is Arlington National Cemetery, where we bury America's 
warriors from all wars since the war between the States. And on duty 
that day, when that plane came low across this land and crashed into 
the Pentagon, at Arlington National Cemetery, at the Tomb of the 
Unknown Soldier, those soldiers were on duty. They did not leave their 
post. They stayed there throughout the entire episode. Amazing people, 
our military.
  So it's incumbent upon us not only to remember those that died, those 
that lived because of our first responders, but we need to remember 
that we did not ask for this war, and we must deal with it wherever it 
takes us throughout this world.
  And that's just the way it is.

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