Posted on 09/12/2004 10:23:51 AM PDT by knighthawk
America stood united again on Sept. 11. Three years after fanatics unleashed the worst terror attack in U.S. history, people around the nation paused yesterday to remember the horror - and the outpouring of strength and compassion that followed and is still helping to heal the wounds.
In Iowa City, Iowa, 70,000 football fans rose in unison in a sun-drenched stadium to cheer a flag rescued from the rubble of Ground Zero and hail three New York City firefighters.
Firefighters John Gaine, Ed Zeilman and Tim Kelly marched into Kinnick Stadium before the Iowa-Iowa State game in front of an honor guard carrying the faded 20-foot-by-30-foot flag.
They thanked Iowans for more than $40,000 in donations they sent the FDNY. "To me it means a lot," said Denny Hansen, an Iowa City firefighter who took part in the ceremony. "We lost a lot of brothers and sisters that day."
Even in the presidential race, the opponents muted their war of words to mark the day, though they still hit their themes.
President Bush spoke from the Oval Office in arare live television broadcast of his weekly radio address. "Our country is safer than we were three years ago, but we are not yet safe," he said, accompanied by families of Sept. 11 victims and New York City firefighters and police officers. "The United States is determined to stay on the offensive and to pursue the terrorists wherever they train or sleep or attempt to set down roots."
Earlier, Bush led a moment of silence at the White House in memory of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Kerry placed three white lilies at a Sept. 11 memorial at the Boston Public Garden, then spoke at a service at Boston's Opera House. Two of the planes left from Boston's Logan Airport.
"While Sept. 11 was the worst day we have ever seen, it brought out the best in all of us," Kerry said. "And we must always remember that we will only defeat those who sought to destroy us by standing together as one America."
In Shanksville, Pa., more than 1,500 people carrying roses and flags gathered in the field where the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 forced their plane to the ground. Volunteers rang two large bells and read the names of each of the 40 heroes to an audience crowded with relatives of the dead.
"We know that no words, no memorials, nothing can take the place of all that you have lost," said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
A moment of silence was observed at the Pentagon for 184 victims there, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld joined their relatives at Arlington National Cemetery. "The lives that were lost on Sept. 11 have meaning. They live on as a testament to a country that is courageous, that is determined, to a people that are resilient despite great loss, and to a cause that continues until that mission is accomplished," Rumsfeld said.
Thousands of miles away in Afghanistan, teary-eyed soldiers marked the fateful day by watching videos of the strike on the Pentagon and twin towers, reminding them why they are there. "We're here to prevent future ceremonies, future Sept. 11s," said Maj. Andy Preston, an infantryman from Edmond, Okla., who was working at the Pentagon when it was hit.
Ping
Reaffirming my earlier prediction, three months ago, that Mort Zuckerman's NY Daily News WILL endorse W. this fall.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.