THE VICE PRESIDENT: Mr. Secretary, General Pace,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: Five years ago, September
11th forever ceased to be an ordinary date on the calendar. So we
gather, once again, to recall events that still have the power to move
us, and always will. And we honor the men, women, and children whose
lives were taken, so suddenly and so coldly, here at the Pentagon, at
the World Trade Center, and on a field in Pennsylvania. We remember all
that we saw, and heard, and felt on that Tuesday morning, and also how
much the world changed on the 11th of September, 2001.
Nine-eleven is a day of national unity. The memories stay with all of
us because the attack was directed at all of us. We were meant to take
it personally, and we still do take it personally.
The ones who were lost had begun that day just as you and I did -- as
free citizens of a peaceful country. They were busy with life. They had
people who cared about them, people who depended on them, people who
loved the sight of their face and the sound of their voice. They were
unsuspecting of danger and undeserving of their fate. Each one of them
had hopes and plans for the future. All of that was taken away by the
wicked plans of a few men.
I will always remember leaving the White House after nightfall on
September 11th. From a helicopter along the Potomac, we saw the scene of
the crash, the lights pointed at the Pentagon, and the smoke that had
been rising since early that morning.
What happened here at 9:37 a.m. on September 11th challenges anyone's
powers of description. Perhaps no one expressed it better than an Army
lieutenant colonel who was here that morning attempting to rescue
others. It was all, as he put it, so "cheap, dirty and senseless."
When the alert was sounded at the Pentagon, this space was filled
with emergency vehicles, and a combat air patrol circled overhead.
Inside, civilian and military personnel were helping each other through
the smoke and the darkness. On Route 27, a priest hurried from his car
to give comfort to the wounded and to pray with them. From two miles
away, an Army chief warrant officer, whose wife worked in this building,
saw the fire and ran to the scene. He joined in the rescue effort, and
stayed in the work even after learning his wife could not possibly have
survived.
We know of these and so many similar acts of courage and kindness on
that terrible morning. Other stories, we will never know. Surely men and
women here, and aboard Flight 77, were in their last moments holding and
comforting one another. And when we think of them, it will always be
with a special feeling of empathy and sorrow. We will always understand
the pain of their families. And our nation will forever look with
reverence upon their place -- this place where their lives ended.
On September 11th, Americans also had a glimpse of the culture of the
Pentagon -- and we saw a great deal to make us proud. Suddenly our
nation was at war, and the switch to a war footing here was immediate. A
witness said, "My most vivid memory of that day is this sea of khaki
Navy uniforms -- doing what we were trained to do: Fight the fire, find
your shipmates." Everyone seemed to rush forward to help. Minutes after
the attack, Marines had organized a watch outside. The Secretary of
Defense himself helped carry out the wounded. Within hours, the first
meeting was held to review military options. When that giant flag was
unfurled here, it rallied the country. And everyone was reminded how
fortunate we are every day to have the men and women of the Pentagon on
duty for the United States of America.
In these five years, we have needed you as much as we ever have. And
since that day there is a lot we've learned. We have learned that oceans
do not protect us, and threats that gather thousands of miles away can
now find us here at home. We have learned that there is a certain kind
of enemy whose ambitions have no limits, and whose cruelty is only fed
by the grief of others.
And in these years, we also found our mission: to defend America
against a present danger, and to offer a democracy and hope as the
alternative to extremism and terror. As President Bush has said, "This
nation has defeated tyrants and liberated death camps, raised the 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."
The war on terror has placed hard duties on our military and on the
Department of Defense. You have done all our country has asked of you,
and more. And you know better than most that much hard work and
sacrifice still lay ahead. Yet in the conduct of this war the world has
seen the best that is in our country. We have shown that Americans are a
resolute people -- clear in our purposes, steady in difficult tasks. We
have answered violence with patient justice. We have liberated whole
nations from dictatorship, stayed beside them on the path to democracy,
and lifted the sights of millions to a future beyond tyranny and terror.
This struggle is fierce, and it will be lengthy. But it is not endless.
Our cause is right, our will is strong, this great nation will prevail.
At every turn in this battle for our freedom and security, Americans
will persevere with courage, and with honor. We will never forget the
day the war began, or the way the war began. Our thoughts remain with
the victims of 9/11. Our prayers remain with the families left behind.
May they find comfort in the deep respect and compassion of their fellow
citizens. And may God watch over the United States of America. |