I would like to take a moment and say thank-you to the Mayor and the Council for hosting the Memorial service today. I would like to say thank you to everyone that also came out today to remember all of those that have passed on before us.
I am honored to be here today to share with you my reflections and my hopes for our world. All of us here today and across our Nation will never forget where we were and what we were doing the day the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93 exploded, collapsed and thousands of US citizens died within moments.
In fact let’s pause for a moment and reflect briefly about where you were, what you were doing and how you felt when you witnessed the atrocities that replayed for hours and days as we as a nation watched with horror and sadness as innocent people died.
My grandmother use to talk to me about something she called “cemetery time” and for those of you that don’t know what that means. It’s where you go literally to the cemetery and spend some time sitting by the headstone of your loved one and think about the person who has died. She uses to encourage me to go on a regular basis and spend some time with my father. I never really understood why going to the cemetery was such a big deal to her.
Until, I realized that today and every year post September, the 11th we as nation pause and spend some time at the cemetery.
We pause and remember the stories of bravery, of courage, of determination; of how our firefighters, our police officers and ordinary citizens selflessly went into the eye of the storm to assist complete strangers.
We think about how men and women sacrificed themselves for the lives of others displaying uncommon courage in the face of certain peril. These men and women, that we think about are the foundation of our country, these men and women were called upon that day to exhibit courage that, I am sure that they did not know they possessed until the situation called upon them to risk their lives for a greater purpose...to save someone else…to say good bye to loved one…to die trying to bring a plane down.
Ten years later we are all at this moment at our nation’s cemetery. We are here to honor those that made history; those that died that day did not do so in vain. They did not die in vain because as we stand here today, reflecting on their passing and our losses we know in all of our hearts that we as a nation have changed, that we as a nation are stronger and that we as nation will never forget.
In closing, that is really what my grandmother meant when she sent me to the cemetery she wanted me never to forget. As we are gathered here today all of us will never forget where we were that fateful day in September. That day has forever changed who we are as people and who we are as a nation.
Would you please bow your head in prayer?
Heavenly Father, I pray for each of the families that lost someone in this tragedy. I pray for the firefighters and police officers here today. God I ask that you guide and protect them from harm’s way and if God something were to ever happen to any of them. I trust that you will be in their stairwell of final moments, like you were with those in the World Trade Center.
It is my prayer that they will always recognize your abiding love and concern for them.
We again thank you Father for all of your blessings and although we may not understand the bad times, we know that you have bestowed on this nation many blessings. Help us all too never ever forget that because of you, your grace, your mercy, our nation has grown to become the greatest nation on earth. Bless these men and women here today. Give them strength and courage, vision and love for all mankind. Help us all lord, to always put our trust in thee.
May God continue to bless our great State and Bless America.
Amen
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