    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 11, 2002]
    [Pages 1570-1572]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Address to the Nation From Ellis Island, New York, on the Anniversary of
    the Terrorist Attacks of September 11
    September 11, 2002

        Good evening. A long year has passed since enemies attacked our
    country. We've seen the images so many times, they are seared on our
    souls, and remembering the

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    horror, reliving the anguish, reimagining the terror is hard and
    painful.
        For those who lost loved ones, it's been a year of sorrow, of empty
    places, of newborn children who will never know their fathers here on
    Earth. For members of our military, it's been a year of sacrifice and
    service far from home. For all Americans, it has been a year of
    adjustment, of coming to terms with the difficult knowledge that our
    Nation has determined enemies and that we are not invulnerable to their
    attacks.
        Yet, in the events that have challenged us, we have also seen the
    character that will deliver us. We have seen the greatness of America in
    airline passengers who defied their hijackers and ran a plane into the
    ground to spare the lives of others. We've seen the greatness of America
    in rescuers who rushed up flights of stairs toward peril. And we
    continue to see the greatness of America in the care and compassion our
    citizens show to each other.
        September the 11th, 2001, will always be a fixed point in the life
    of America. The loss of so many lives left us to examine our own. Each
    of us was reminded that we are here only for a time and these counted
    days should be filled with things that last and matter: Love for our
    families, love for our neighbors, and for our country; gratitude for
    life and to the Giver of life.
        We resolved a year ago to honor every last person lost. We owe them
    remembrance, and we owe them more. We owe them and their children, and
    our own, the most enduring monument we can build, a world of liberty and
    security made possible by the way America leads and by the way Americans
    lead our lives.
        The attack on our Nation was also attack on the ideals that make us
    a nation. Our deepest national conviction is that every life is
    precious, because every life is the gift of a Creator who intended us to
    live in liberty and equality. More than anything else, this separates us
    from the enemy we fight. We value every life. Our enemies value none,
    not even the innocent, not even their own. And we seek the freedom and
    opportunity that give meaning and value to life.
        There is a line in our time and in every time between those who
    believe that all men are created equal and those who believe that some
    men and women and children are expendable in the pursuit of power. There
    is a line in our time and in every time between the defenders of human
    liberty and those who seek to master the minds and souls of others. Our
    generation has now heard history's call, and we will answer it.
        America has entered a great struggle that tests our strength and,
    even more, our resolve. Our Nation is patient and steadfast. We continue
    to pursue the terrorists in cities and camps and caves across the Earth.
    We are joined by a great coalition of nations to rid the world of
    terror. And we will not allow any terrorist or tyrant to threaten
    civilization with weapons of mass murder. Now and in the future,
    Americans will live as free people, not in fear and never at the mercy
    of any foreign plot or power.
        This Nation has defeated tyrants and liberated death camps, raised
    this lamp of liberty to every captive land. We have no intention of
    ignoring or appeasing history's latest gang of fanatics trying to murder
    their way to power. They are discovering, as others before them, the
    resolve of a great country and a great democracy. In the ruins of two
    towers, under a flag unfurled at the Pentagon, at the funerals of the
    lost, we have made a sacred promise to ourselves and to the world: We
    will not relent until justice is done and our Nation is secure. What our
    enemies have begun, we will finish.
        I believe there is a reason that history has matched this Nation
    with this time. America strives to be tolerant and just. We respect the
    faith of Islam, even as we fight those whose actions defile that faith.
    We fight not to impose our will but to defend

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    ourselves and extend the blessings of freedom.
        We cannot know all that lies ahead. Yet, we do know that God has
    placed us together in this moment, to grieve together, to stand
    together, to serve each other and our country. And the duty we have been
    given, defending America and our freedom, is also a privilege we share.
    We're prepared for this journey, and our prayer tonight is that God will
    see us through and keep us worthy.
        Tomorrow is September the 12th. A milestone is passed, and a mission
    goes on. Be confident. Our country is strong, and our cause is even
    larger than our country. Ours is the cause of human dignity, freedom
    guided by conscience and guarded by peace. This ideal of America is the
    hope of all mankind. That hope drew millions to this harbor. That hope
    still lights our way. And the light shines in the darkness. And the
    darkness will not overcome it.
        May God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:01 p.m. The Office of the Press Secretary
    also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.