[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12110-12111]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, it is hard to believe that 15 years ago 
this Sunday the Twin Towers fell, smoke from the Pentagon could be seen 
from miles away, and a plane went down in a Pennsylvania field. For 
those who lived through that horrible day, the memory still feels 
fresh.
  Of course, this is especially true for those who lost loved ones. 
This weekend, Americans across the country will gather to remember the 
thousands of innocent lives that were taken so callously and 
indiscriminately in those

[[Page 12111]]

terrorist attacks. And we remember the first responders, law 
enforcement, intelligence, and military personnel who work every single 
day to keep our country safe.
  This year, we must also take a moment to remember the spirit that 
united us in the days after the attacks. Americans of all races, 
religions, and backgrounds stood together in solidarity to support one 
another and stand against the cowardice of terrorism. Following the 
attacks, President George W. Bush visited a mosque. At a joint session 
of Congress, he reminded Americans that ``no one should be singled out 
for unfair treatment or unkind words because of their ethnic background 
or religious faith.'' In the years after September 11, our country did 
not always live up to those words, but we must remember the ideals, 
values, and humanity that sustained us through those first dark days.
  In today's political environment, it is easy to lose sight of that 
common spirit. Some are trying hard to divide us. A Federal judge has 
been accused of bias because of his ethnic heritage. Religious and 
ideological tests for visitors to the United States are discussed as 
though they are serious policy proposals. The sacrifices of war heroes 
and Gold Star families are belittled. And that is just the beginning.
  On this 15th anniversary of September 11, we must reject this 
divisiveness. While Americans will continue to mourn the loss of so 
many on September 11 and in the wars that followed, we will never lose 
sight of the core principles that so many generations of Americans 
fought to protect.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, this Sunday we will solemnly observe the 
15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed 2,977 people 
from 93 different nations and injured more than 6,000 others at the 
World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field near Shanksville, PA. For 
those of us old enough to remember, the events of that horrific day are 
seared into our memories as if they just happened yesterday. Over 3,000 
children lost at least one parent on 9/11. Many of these children were 
too young at the time to comprehend what was happening or to remember 
it today, even though they suffered such a devastating personal loss. 
According to the Census Bureau, nearly 59 million Americans have been 
born since 9/11. Most of these young people learn about 9/11 in school, 
much the same way an earlier generation of Americans learned about 
Pearl Harbor.
  For those younger Americans who don't remember 9/11, I think it is 
important for them to understand that the attacks did not just test our 
character; they revealed it. The worst attack in American history 
brought out the best in the American people. Americans responded with 
courage and self-sacrifice, with charity and compassion and 
volunteerism and with resolve.
  There were incredible acts of individual heroism. ``Numerous 
civilians in all stairwells, numerous burn [victims] are coming down. 
We're trying to send them down first . . . We're still heading up.'' So 
said New York City Fire Department Captain Patrick ``Paddy'' Brown, 
Ladder 3, as he and 11 of his men climbed an emergency stairwell in the 
North Tower, making it to the 40th floor before the Tower collapsed. 
His remains were recovered 3 months later. Three hundred and forty-
three members of the New York City Fire Department and 71 law 
enforcement officers gave their lives while helping evacuate 25,000 
people to safety.
  ``Are you guys ready? Let's roll.''--so said 32-year Todd Beamer as 
he and other passengers aboard United Airlines flight 93 rushed the 
cockpit in an attempt to regain control of the jet, which the four al-
Qaeda hijackers apparently intended to crash into the White House or 
the U.S. Capitol. The heroism of the flight 93 passengers undoubtedly 
saved thousands of lives here in Washington. Todd's wife, Lisa, was one 
of at least 17 pregnant women who became widows on 9/11; Morgan Kay 
Beamer was born on January 9, 2002.
  There were incredible acts of charity and compassion and 
volunteerism. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World 
Trade Center has documented some of them. Ada Rosario Dolch was the 
principal of a high school located just two blocks from the World Trade 
Center. On 9/11, she helped to evacuate 600 students safely; meanwhile, 
Ada's sister Wendy Wakeford was killed. To honor Wendy's memory, Ada 
helped to build a school in Afghanistan that opened in 2005.
  In 2006, Tad Millinger started the ``Walk to Raise'' campaign with 
high school friends Brandon Reinhard, Chad Coulter, and Dustin Dean. 
They walked 650 miles from their hometown of Rossford, OH, to New York 
City to raise money for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at 
the World Trade Center and the Flight 93 National Memorial in 
Pennsylvania. Tad is now a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical 
technician in his hometown.
  Sonali Beaven was 5 years old when her father, Alan, was killed on 
Flight 93. ``My loss is central to my identity,'' Sonali has said. ``In 
a sense, each choice I've made since that day has been crafted by my 
experience. But, because of my loss and the nature of my loss, I choose 
love and life every day. Because of my father and the other passengers, 
I can't let fear limit me. I have to take today and every day and try 
to improve the world we live in and spread the ideology of love.''
  There has been resolve. We resolved as a nation to bring to justice 
the people responsible for 9/11. Roughly 2.5 million Americans have 
served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; despite the horrors of war 
and multiple deployments, 89 percent of those veterans say they would 
join the military again. On May 2, 2011, Navy SEAL Team Six located and 
killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in Operation Neptune 
Spear. The global war on terror is far from over, but I am confident we 
will prevail. As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said in his May 
26, 1940 fireside chat, ``We defend and we build a way of life, not for 
America alone, but for all mankind.''
  What I hope our young people--those who don't have a personal memory 
of
9/11--will understand is that, out of many, we are truly one. That was 
evident on 9/11, and it is still true. Our partisan, political, 
philosophical, and regional differences come to the fore during a 
Presidential campaign. But these differences ultimately are dwarfed by 
what binds us together as Americans: our hopes for our families, our 
communities, our Nation, and the world. The best way for all of us to 
honor those who died on 9/11 is to remember that and act accordingly--
courageously, generously, compassionately, and with resolve to defend 
and promote justice, freedom, and peace at home and abroad.
  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)

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