Pentagon Memorial Dedication Recalls 9/11 Sacrifices
(September 12, 2008) | 
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President George
W. Bush delivers his remarks during the
dedication ceremony of the 9/11 Pentagon
Memorial Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008, at the
Pentagon in Arlington, Va. (White House photo by
Eric Draper) |
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2008 –
On the seventh anniversary of the day a hijacked
airliner slammed into the Pentagon, President
Bush today dedicated memorial near the crash
site, calling it not only a place of
remembrance, but also a reminder of the
resilience of the American spirit.
The attacks in New York and at the Pentagon and
the thwarted hijacking of United Flight 93,
which crashed in Pennsylvania, are events that
“changed our world forever,” President Bush
during his remarks at the dedication ceremony.
“The years that followed have
seen justice delivered to evil men and battles
fought in distant lands,” the president said.
“But each year on this day, our thoughts return
to this place. Here we remember those who died,
and here, on this solemn anniversary, we
dedicate a memorial that will enshrine
their memory for all time.” |
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The president said the memorial will be a
place of remembrance, and a place where those who lost
family and friends can find solace. But it is more, he said.
“For all our citizens, this memorial will be a reminder of
the resilience of the American spirit,” Bush told the
audience. “As we walk among the benches, we will remember
there could have been many more lives lost.”
The memorial also will remind Americans that “when buildings
fell, heroes rose,” Bush said. In the Pentagon, employees
ran into smoke-filled corridors to guide co-workers to
safety. In New York, firefighters and police rushed up the
stairs of the World Trade Center as the towers neared
collapse. “Passengers aboard Flight 93 charged the cockpit
and laid down their lives to spare countless others,” he
said. “One of the worst days in America's history saw some
of the bravest acts in America's history.”
The events of Sept. 11 still sear Americans, said Navy Adm.
Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Even for all the pain, it heals us to come back here and
reflect on the suffering and the sacrifice of that day,” he
said.
American servicemembers serving around the world in harm's
way remember that sacrifice, and are dedicated to the memory
of the innocents who died in the attacks. They are resolved
that it doesn't happen again, the chairman said.
“I see it in their eyes -- the eyes of every one of our
soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who,
at this very moment, stand watch anywhere, any time, ready
to do their duty,” Mullen said. “The enduring resolve to
take the fight to our enemies – those who brought the fight
here – burns strong within each and every one of our
servicemen and women. It is that resolve that will always
return us here to this spot -- this ‘vision-place of
souls.'”
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the memorial
consecrates the Pentagon.
“With this memorial we pay our respects to 184 souls; to the
many who were injured; and to the families who still
grieve,” the secretary said. “While no public display can
make up for the injustice, or lessen the pain of these
losses, the one that we dedicate today binds all of America
to the dead and their survivors. Your suffering and your
solace, so personal to you, become the nation's as well.
“From now on, the Pentagon is more than a symbol of
government, more than the seat of military affairs,” he
continued. “It is also a place of remembrance.”
The president also honored Americans who decided to defend
the nation in a time of war.
“When our enemies attacked the Pentagon, they pierced the
rings of this building, but they could not break the resolve
of the United States armed forces,” he said. “Since 9/11,
our troops have taken the fight to the terrorists abroad, so
we do not have to face them here at home. Thanks to the
brave men and women and all those who work to keep us safe,
there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557
days.”
Donald H. Rumsfeld, the defense secretary on the day of the
attacks, also spoke at the dedication. The former secretary
– who ran to the site of the attack and helped triage the
victims – said Americans will not forget what the attack
meant to the United States.
“In the sinister logic of its perpetrators and in the
suffering of its victims, Sept. 11 was among the darkest
days for Americans,” he said. “But it was also a day when,
it can be said, America rediscovered its special grace: the
American people's capacity for courage, for goodwill and for
sacrifice.”
Rumsfeld said the dedication of the memorial was a day to
“renew our vows to never forget how this long struggle
began, and to never forget those who fell first.”
Today's dedication is the culmination of an effort so
Americans remember what happened when terrorists flew
American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon Sept. 11,
2001, Jim Laychak, president of the Pentagon Memorial Fund,
said.
Laychak lost his brother, David, aboard Flight 77. He helped
to raise more than $15 million in private funds to make the
memorial a reality.
“We want people to remember what happened here,” he said in
his remarks at the dedication ceremony. “We want people to
remember our loved ones. We want people to remember the
feeling that swept through our country after 9/11 – that
feeling of taking care of all those who were in such pain.”
As part of the dedication of the Pentagon Memorial,
announcers read the names of all those killed aboard the
flight and in the building. From Paul Ambrose to Yuguang
Zheng, the names went on. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine
Corps, Defense Department civilians, passengers and crew,
several sets of husbands and wives and a whole family: 184
innocent lives lost at 9:36 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001.
As the announcers read the names, pictures of those killed –
smiling at the camera or in official military photos – put
faces to names. A sailor rang a ship's bell after each name
was read.
The memorial opens to the public today at 7 p.m. and will
remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. | |
By Gerry J.
Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2008
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