Expressing the Sense of the House of Representatives Regarding the Terrorist Attacks Launched Against the United States on September 11, 2001

Floor Speech

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING THE TERRORIST ATTACKS LAUNCHED AGAINST THE UNITED STATES ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 16, 2008)

SPEECH OF
HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY
OF MASSACHUSETTS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008

* Mr. MARKEY. Madam Speaker, Last week, our Nation commemorated the seventh anniversary of the most devastating attack on our country since Pearl Harbor. We remembered the victims and their families, and we also honored the heroism of the fire fighters, police officers, emergency workers and everyday Americans who rushed to help those caught in the almost unimaginable violence on that day.

* The attack has left an indelible mark on our Nation. The two planes that were crashed into the World Trade Center towers took off from Boston's Logan Airport on that clear Tuesday morning.

* Last week at Logan Airport, a new memorial was dedicated to the 147 men, women and children who perished on American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175. I ask unanimous consent to insert in the RECORD a statement from Massachusetts Port Authority Chairman Dr. John Quelch on the occasion of the dedication of the 9/11 memorial at Logan Airport.

* We will never forget the heroism of the Americans affected by the September 11th attacks.

REMARKS OF DR. JOHN A. QUELCH

For the past 7 years, there have already been two memorials at Logan Airport, dedicated to the 147 men, women and children who perished the morning of September 11, 2001 on American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175.

One stands outside Gate 32 in American Airline's Terminal B. The other stands outside Gate 19 in United's Terminal C. Both memorials appeared spontaneously, raised by airport and airline employees without fanfare or ceremony. These two memorials are one and the same. And there is no grander memorial. That memorial is the flag of the United States of America.

The flags fly proudly to this day, and will likely fly forever. They symbolize the determination of this airport, this Nation, and the community assembled here to recover from that grievous wound.

Today, we dedicate a third memorial as a remembrance of that day and its impact on all of us. This memorial is accessible to all who come to this airport. And this memorial acknowledges each lost soul by name.

It is a simple tribute. A quiet place of reflection. Hopefully, a place for healing. And, with the passage of time, a place for learning and education, as well.

This memorial is first and foremost for you, the family members and friends of those who perished that sunny September morning. They never asked to make history, yet they did so in the saddest possible way.

The weight of September 11 also bore heavily on the entire Logan airport community who were devastated to learn that two of our flights--our flight 11, our flight 175--were instruments in the tragedy that unfolded. We at Massport and the entire Logan family hope that you--and we--will find comfort in this place. And in the years to come, we hope that many thousands of visitors--perhaps millions--will also come here to reflect, to heal and to learn.

Changing our own lives will be the greatest gift we can give to the departed. They surely expect more from us than to merely memorialize their names. They surely want us to do more, work harder, be better, to be inspired by remembering them.

So, for the sacrifice of those we honor here today, may this memorial therefore make us better fathers and mothers, sons and daughters.

For their sacrifice, may we be better custodians of the public trust, ever vigilant for the public safety.

For their sacrifice may we be better citizens and neighbors.

And in the morning, with the rising of the sun, and with the sounds of freedom in the sky, we shall remember them.

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