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Admiral Mullen: Mr. President, Secretary Gates, distinguished guests,
most of all, families and friends of those we lost on
9/11; inside the Pentagon, near the chapel, lies a quilt on display.
The quilt was stitched together by dozens of Americans who
simply wanted those of us who survived the attack on this
building to know that they, our fellow citizens,
would always remember those who didn't.
On that quilt are written these words by a little girl named
Courtney Lord: "In our hearts we weep for you.
In our minds we honor you."
Today, Courtney's words still comfort us.
Because today, we still weep for those we lost here --
and in New York -- and in Somerset County.
Today, we still honor them.
We honor them with our presence and certainly with this memorial.
Mostly, we honor them with our lives --
with what we have done from that day to this --
the sacrifices we have borne, the laughter we have shared,
the hope we have dared to let back into our hearts.
Unspeakable carnage was visited upon us here.
But it did not conquer us.
Unimaginable loss is felt by us here.
But it does not diminish us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us that "what lies behind you and
what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies
inside of you."
So, here, now, let us we weep for what lies behind us --
let us honor what lies in front of us.
But let us remember -- always -- what lies inside of us.
Please join me now in a moment of silence and remembrance.
Announcer: Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Secretary of Defense,
Robert M. Gates.
Secretary Gates: Mr. President, distinguished visitors, friends and family
members; thank you for being here.
Nine years ago today, on a day much like this,
the calm of a clear, September morning was shattered by the
worst act of terrorism in our nation's history.
The attacks on the World Trade Center,
Flight 93 over Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon,
steps from where we stand today, claimed thousands of innocent
victims and forever scarred their family and friends and all Americans.
Today, we honor and remember those who fell,
surrounded by those who love them and who still feel the pain
of that loss.
This remembrance continues in ways large and small.
Yesterday, as the chairman just mentioned,
we had the official presentation of the Pentagon 9/11 quilt
featuring the faces of all 184 of those who died on these grounds.
We're grateful for the work and dedication of all the volunteers
who brought that moving project into reality.
And just west of here, a portion of Washington boulevard is being
renamed 9/11 Heroes Memorial Highway to remind those passing
by what happened here on that day.
Today we also reflect on what those attacks meant for an
entire generation of young Americans who answered the call to serve.
Since then, thousands have made the ultimate sacrifice,
and their absence, too, is felt today and every day.
Our troops and their families have paid a steep price these
past nine years, but have also shown resilience and strength in
the best traditions of the country,
a country that cherishes their service and the memory of those
that have fallen.
We are honored that the President is once again here to
help us commemorate this anniversary.
And so it is my great pleasure to introduce our
Commander-in-Chief, the President of the United States.
(applause)
The President: Secretary Gates.
Admiral Mullen and members of the Armed Forces.
My fellow Americans.
Most of all, to you -- survivors who still carry the scars of
tragedy and destruction; to the families who carry in your
hearts the memory of the loved ones you lost here.
For a nation, this is a day of remembrance,
a day of reflection, and -- with God's grace --
a day of unity and renewal.
We gather to remember, at this sacred hour,
on hallowed ground -- at places where we feel such grief and
where our healing goes on.
We gather here, at the Pentagon, where the names of the lost are
forever etched in stone.
We gather in a gentle Pennsylvania field,
where a plane went down and a "tower of voices" will rise and
echo through the ages.
And we gather where the Twin Towers fell,
a site where the work goes on so that next year,
on the 10th anniversary, the waters will flow in steady
tribute to the nearly 3,000 innocent lives.
On this day, it's perhaps natural to focus on the images
of that awful morning -- images that are seared into our souls.
It's tempting to dwell on the final moments of the loved ones
whose lives were taken so cruelly.
Yet these memorials, and your presence today,
remind us to remember the fullness of their time on Earth.
They were fathers and mothers, raising their families;
brothers and sisters, pursuing their dreams;
sons and daughters, their whole lives before them.
They were civilians and service members.
Some never saw the danger coming;
others saw the peril and rushed to save others --
up those stairwells, into the flames, into the cockpit.
They were white and black and brown --
men and women and some children made up of all races,
many faiths.
They were Americans and people from far corners of the world.
And they were snatched from us senselessly and much too soon --
but they lived well, and they live on in you.
Nine years have now passed.
In that time, you have shed more tears than we will ever know.
And though it must seem some days as though the world has
moved on to other things, I say to you today that your loved
ones endure in the heart of our nation, now and forever.
Our remembrance today also requires a certain reflection.
As a nation, and as individuals, we must ask ourselves how best
to honor them -- those who died, those who sacrificed.
How do we preserve their legacy --
not just on this day, but every day?
We need not look far for our answer.
The perpetrators of this evil act didn't simply attack
America; they attacked the very idea of America itself --
all that we stand for and represent in the world.
And so the highest honor we can pay those we lost,
indeed our greatest weapon in this ongoing war,
is to do what our adversaries fear the most --
to stay true to who we are, as Americans;
to renew our sense of common purpose;
to say that we define the character of our country,
and we will not let the acts of some small band of murderers who
slaughter the innocent and cower in caves distort who we are.
They doubted our will, but as Americans we persevere.
Today, in Afghanistan and beyond,
we have gone on the offensive and struck major blows against
al Qaeda and its allies.
We will do what is necessary to protect our country,
and we honor all those who serve to keep us safe.
They may seek to strike fear in us,
but they are no match for our resilience.
We do not succumb to fear, nor will we squander the optimism
that has always defined us as a people.
On a day when others sought to destroy,
we have chosen to build, with a National Day of Service and
Remembrance that summons the inherent goodness of the
American people.
They may seek to exploit our freedoms,
but we will not sacrifice the liberties we cherish or hunker
down behind walls of suspicion and mistrust.
They may wish to drive us apart, but we will not give in to their
hatred and prejudice.
For Scripture teaches us to "get rid of all bitterness,
rage and anger, brawling and slander,
along with every form of malice."
They may seek to spark conflict between different faiths,
but as Americans we are not -- and never will be --
at war with Islam.
It was not a religion that attacked us that September day
-- it was al Qaeda, a sorry band of men which perverts religion.
And just as we condemn intolerance and extremism
abroad, so will we stay true to our traditions here at home as a
diverse and tolerant nation.
We champion the rights of every American,
including the right to worship as one chooses --
as service members and civilians from many faiths do just steps
from here, at the very spot where the terrorists struck this building.
Those who attacked us sought to demoralize us, divide us,
to deprive us of the very unity, the very ideals,
that make America America -- those qualities that have made
us a beacon of freedom and hope to billions around the world.
Today we declare once more we will never hand them that victory.
As Americans, we will keep alive the virtues and values that make
us who we are and who we must always be.
For our cause is just.
Our spirit is strong.
Our resolve is unwavering.
Like generations before us, let us come together today and all
days to affirm certain inalienable rights,
to affirm life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
On this day and the days to come,
we choose to stay true to our best selves --
as one nation, under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
This is how we choose to honor the fallen --
your families, your friends, your fellow service members.
This is how we will keep alive the legacy of these proud and
patriotic Americans.
This is how we will prevail in this great test of our time.
This is how we will preserve and protect the country that we love
and pass it -- safer and stronger --
to future generations.
May God bless you and your families,
and may God continue to bless the United States of America.