[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 13386-13387]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            REMEMBERING 9/11

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to join my colleagues in 
commemorating the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 
2001. Twelve years ago America was dealt a blow, but in the years 
since, we have continued to rebuke the message of hate that was brought 
to our doorstep. What is more is that we affirm our core American 
values that were magnified in the days following those attacks.
  We are still `` one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and 
justice for all.'' We are still a diverse nation of many races, 
religions, and ideas united under the same flag. Maybe most important, 
we are still at our best when we come together.
  Every year we are reminded that though we are a strong and determined 
nation, we are still healing from the wounds we suffered that day 12 
years ago. No amount of time can rationalize the senseless violence or 
bring back a loved one. It is important to note that we have brought 
many of the terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, to justice, and we 
have made great strides in ensuring that those who wish to do us harm 
like they did on 9/11 will be unable to do so.
  Our men and women in uniform, the intelligence community, Foreign 
Service officers, and the people entrusted with safeguarding our 
borders, bridges, air and seaports and key infrastructure, have made 
great sacrifices to ensure our continued safety in a 
post-9/11 world and we owe so much to these men and women, and the 
families who support them.
  Today, we join together to show the world that our Nation is united 
and firmly resolved to defend our freedom and safeguard our liberty 
against any enemy.
  We also take time to remember those Americans who perished on 9/11 
and to remember them and their families with a special prayer. We 
reflect on the heroism of the firefighters, police officers, medical 
workers, city officials, and ordinary citizens who gave their own lives 
trying to save others. Who could ever forget the images of firefighters 
and other first responders going up the stairs of the World Trade 
Center as everyone else was heading to safety? Each of us has been 
affected by 9/11. It is a day seared into the national memory.
  We cannot forget 9/11 because the virtues that carried us though the 
days, weeks, and years have been with us since the beginning: 9/11 did 
not teach firefighters and police to sacrifice, nor did it teach unity 
among neighbors. It did not teach empathy toward strangers or 
compassion toward friends.
  Rather, these quintessential American virtues were with us all along; 
9/11 just put them under a spotlight for all to see. On 9/11 we showed 
the world a brand of resilience, compassion, and strength that could 
only be ``made in America''.
  And so, 12 years after the most heinous attacks in our Nation's 
history, we stand tall. We stand tall, not weighed down by the gravity 
of 9/11 but made stronger by it. We remain united in our diversity like 
no other nation on Earth, `` one Nation, under God, indivisible, with 
liberty and justice for all.''
  Mr. CHIESA. Mr. President, I vividly recall, as do most Americans, 
exactly where I was 12 years ago this morning. My son, Al, who had only 
recently celebrated his third birthday, was beginning his very first 
day at preschool. It was a big day for my wife Jenny and me, filled 
with that mixture of excitement and trepidation that is familiar to all 
young parents.
  Shortly after waving goodbye to Al, we heard the shocking news--an 
airplane had hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
  As a native New Jerseyan, raised in the shadow of the Twin Towers, I 
could picture the scene in my mind's eye.
  My first assumption was that a small plane--perhaps one of the 
sightseeing planes that provided visitors with a bird's-eye view of the 
wonders of Lower Manhattan and the harbor--had somehow flown off course 
into the building.
  Less than 20 minutes later, however, when the second plane hit, I 
knew, as we all did, that this was no accident. America was under 
attack. And as the morning unfolded and the horror increased--the 
Pentagon was hit, the towers fell, United flight 93 was brought to the 
ground near Shanksville, PA--my thoughts turned to faith and family.
  I thought of my son--young and innocent, starting his very first day 
in school--and I realized the world that existed when we dropped him 
off that morning had changed.
  I thought of so many friends and neighbors who might very well have 
been on the plane that flew out of Newark that morning or in those 
proud buildings that had been reduced to rubble. I hoped and prayed 
that they were safe.
  I thought of the people who had surely lost their lives in the 
attacks--in numbers more than any of us could bear, as Mayor Giuliani 
so eloquently put it--and prayed for them and their families.
  And as the day drew to its awful conclusion, I knew that for so many, 
the terrible anguish of this day was just beginning, and the reminders 
of that were everywhere: the children whose parents would never arrive 
to pick their children up from school, the empty place at the dinner 
table, the gaping hole in the hearts of those who loved those who 
perished.
  Twelve years later, the passage of time has, for many, helped to 
bring some measure of healing. But the scars remain, and they will 
never completely fade away.
  So today we remember, as we do every year and as we should every day, 
all those who lost their lives, both in the terrorist attacks 
themselves and also on foreign fields of battle in the defense of our 
freedom and our way of life.
  We remember today, as we do every year and as we should every day, 
all those who were injured in the attacks and on the battlefield.
  We remember today, as we do every year and as we should every day, 
all those who responded to the attacks with bravery and determination 
and many of whom still struggle with the aftermath of their courageous 
actions.
  And we remember today, as we do every year and should every day, all 
those who lost friends, colleagues, and family members in the attacks 
and in the years since. Their suffering is our suffering and we must 
never forget that.
  Today is also a day for renewal, for renewing the sense of purpose 
that united our nation in the aftermath of the attacks, for renewing 
the spirit of cooperation that made it possible for our country to move 
forward, both through individual acts of courage, kindness, and 
compassion and through acts of governance that helped us meet the 
challenges we faced, and for renewing our determination to keep America 
safe while also safeguarding our liberties.
  Twelve years ago today, when Jenny and I dropped off our son for his 
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first day of school--he is, by the way, now a high school freshman--we 
could never have imagined how much the world would change before he had 
even settled in to his new preschool routine.
  But although so much has changed, one thing remains constant: 
America, is, as she always had been, a beacon of hope to the world. No 
act of terror--no matter how brutal--will ever diminish the bright, 
shining light of the American spirit.

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