Obama, Pentagon Leaders Honor 9/11
Victims, Pledge Resolve in Defense of U.S.
(September 12, 2009) |
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President Barack Obama delivers remarks during a
Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon
Memorial as Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff looks on. During the
ceremony, a wreath was laid to honor the memory
of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication
Specialist 1st Class Tiffini Jones Vanderwyst |
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2009
President Barack Obama today
reflected on those who perished on Sept. 11,
2001, and said today's anniversary is an
opportunity to renew American resolve against
those who perpetrated the attacks.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm.
Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, joined Obama during a 9/11 remembrance
ceremony and wreath laying at the Pentagon
today.
“We remember with reverence the lives we lost.
We read their names. We press their photos to
our hearts,” Obama said. “And on this day that
marks their death, we recall the beauty and
meaning of their lives, men and women and
children of every color and every creed, from
across our nation and from more than a hundred
others.” |
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The crowd gathered at the two-acre
Pentagon Memorial was composed of families of the 184 people
killed here when hijackers barreled American Airlines Flight
77 into the fa�ade of the U.S. military's headquarters. In
total, nearly 3,000 died in coordinated attacks here, in New
York and aboard the hijacked United Flight 93, which crashed
in Pennsylvania.
“Eight Septembers have come and gone. Nearly 3,000 days have
passed -- almost one for each of those taken from us,” Obama
said. “But no turning of the seasons can diminish the pain
and the loss of that day; no passage of time and no dark
skies can ever dull the meaning of this moment.
“So on this solemn day, at this sacred
hour, once more we pause, once more we pray, as a nation and
as a people -- in city streets where our two towers were
turned to ashes and dust, in a quiet field where a plane
fell from the sky, and here where a single stone of this
building is still blackened by the fires,” he added.
The president called on Americans to renew their resolve
against those who perpetrated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks
and who continue to plot against the U.S.
“In defense of our nation, we will never waiver,” he said.
“In pursuit of al Qaeda and its extremist allies, we will
never falter. Let us renew our commitment to all those who
serve in our defense -- our courageous men and women in
uniform and their families, and all those who protect us
here at home. Mindful that the work of protecting America is
never finished, we will do everything in our power to keep
America safe.”
The defense secretary said the
anniversary is a time to honor the dead and to speak to the
survivors and loved ones whose lives are irrevocably changed
by 9/11. |
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remove the pain of that loss. In the lives of
these patriots, we can find some solace,” hesaid. “Because they lived, and because of the great pinnacle
of their sacrifice and because of the sacrifice of thousands
more since that day, we remain a strong and free nation.”
Gates noted that the men and
women killed in the attack on the Pentagon will
continue to be honored by participants in the
memorial's docent program, which officially
launched today. The goal of program organizer
Lisa Dolan, whose husband, Navy Capt. Robert E.
Dolan, died in the attack, is to personalize the
memorial for visitors so they can better
understand the human impact of the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks.
Volunteer speakers, or docents, from the |
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President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates participate in the commemoration ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 11, 2009, marking the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed 59 passengers onboard hijacked American Airlines flight 77 crashing it into the Pentagon killing 125 inside.
DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley |
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Pentagon -- military members, civilian
employees, contractors -- will share their
firsthand accounts of the 9/11 attacks at the
memorial. |
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“She and other 9/11 family members have added something
poignant and profound to this program,” Gates said of Dolan
and the other volunteers.
In the spirit of the docent program, Mullen recalled his
personal memories of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks during
remarks to the audience.
“Who among us can ever forget where we were, what we saw,
how we felt as citizens and as a nation?” he said. “I myself
remember the shudder and the smoke, the shipmates I lost,
and how the whole world changed that day.”
Mullen said that Americans share a common sorrow for the
3,000 victims “stolen from us, right before our eyes and
well before their time.” But the chairman urged the audience
to look upon the day not only with sorrow, but also with
hope for the future.
“Let us face that future with the same resolve our men and
women in uniform exhibit, the same courage with which they
serve and struggle to ensure another day like that day never
happens again,” he said.
“America has sent her armed forces forward with that task.
In harm's way, you have deployed them. And in harm's way,
they stand for you and for each other,” he said. “Many of
them, more than 1 million, have enlisted after 9/11. Because
of 9/11, they volunteered to defend their country, to fight
for something bigger than themselves.”
Mullen said those serving in U.S. military uniforms around
the world are “doing magnificently” in carrying out the
nation's cause. They are supported by extraordinary families
who work and worry and wait, and who serve every bit as
much, he said.
“All of them know the stakes. All of them know that the
people behind the 9/11 attacks are planning and plotting
others, that al Qaeda and its extremist allies would like
nothing better than to strike us again,” he said.
“Eight years of war has changed our troops and their
families, but it has not bested them,” he continued.
“Indeed, it is difficult to describe the selflessness I see
when I visit them in the field and in the fleet, in
hospitals, and here at home. “ |
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President Barack Obama
lays a wreath at the 9/11 commemoration ceremony
at the Pentagon, Sept. 11, 2009.
DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class
Chad J. McNeeley |
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By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2009
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