I have been trying to think of something to say here for some time, but somehow no matter what words I come up with, they seem so inadequate. I have decided to just sit down and say something. . . anything, so I hope this comes out right.
I am a retired U. S. Marine and now a civilian employee at the Pentagon, so I see a graphic reminder of that day every day at work. When you work where I do, it is very hard not to know someone who died that day. I also have a relative who, at the young age of 21, was a passenger on United flight 93 that went down in Pennsylvania. She did not deserve to end her life at so young an age, but neither did 4,000 other people. There were a lot of heroes that day, and there continues to be to this very moment.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to Pearl Harbor as ". . . . a date which will live in infamy." Suddenly, Americans were thrust together for a common cause, and we put aside our "family differences" to work for a common goal. Another quote that same day, in my opinion, sums up the situation very well. Admiral Ishiro Yamamoto, leader of the fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor, upon reporting to Tokyo that the attack was successful, also said "I fear we have awaken a sleeping giant."
Well, in my opinion, that giant just got awaken again, and he is not happy about it. Suddenly, it matters little who is black, who is white, what part of the country you are from or what your religion is, we are all AMERICANS. This time, that "sleeping giant" has been awaken by another tyrant from another part of the world, but the result in the end will be the same. When we all pull together for a common goal, then the ultimate result is inevitable.
September 11, 2001 effected us all, and I am not referring just to Americans, but to freedom-loving people around the globe. Not only have Americans come together, but so have an awful lot of nations, and they are all working for a common cause. I happen to believe that some good can be found in all things, and if there is anything good to come out of September 11, then it is the fact that Americans are together again and have at least temporarily put our own differences aside.
On a national scale, America is working with our British, Russian, French, and numerous other friends to accomplish a common goal. . . . . . just as it happened in the 1941. It took us awhile to get into it then, in my opinion it took TOO long, but once we did we did it together as one people. The result then is now recorded in history, and while the result now has yet to be recorded, the result will be identical. Terrorism in ANY form will always meet the same eventual fate. I thank our many friends around the world who are helping in any way they can.
GOD BLESS AMERICA, AND GOD BLESS OUR MANY FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD.