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Congressman Guest Visits World Trade Center to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of September 11th
Washington, D.C. – This week, Vice Ranking Member Michael Guest joined the Committee on Homeland Security in a visit to the One World Trade Center and with New York City first responders in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.
Guest also joined Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security John Katko in presenting an American flag flown over the United States Capitol to the New York City Fire Department in remembrance of the 20th anniversary of September 11th. A flag was also presented by the Members of the Detectives’ Endowment Association.
During his visit, Congressman Guest recorded a video of his memories of September 11, 2001. The transcript of the video is available below, along with links to the original video, an edited version, and photos from the visit.
Click here to watch/download video
You know, today as we visited the 9/11 museum, so many of those memories from 20 years ago began flooding back.
I remember where I was when I learned that the plane had struck the first World Trade Center, believing that it was an aviation accident.
I turned to the television and watch later in horror as we saw United Airlines flight 195 strike the south tower. At that time, we knew that our nation had been attacked.
Even though I knew that Mississippi was not a target, I immediately began to call my wife and make sure that she knew what was going on and watch the events that transpired that day.
Later that day, I had to be in court, and when I appeared there in the court room, the judge said, “I’m going to do something that I’ve never done before, and it may cause me to get in trouble, but I think it’s appropriate,” and he opened that day in a word of prayer.
And there you had a prayer led by the judge. You had police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, criminal defendants there all bowing their heads in a word of prayer for our nation, a very special day.
On that day, was a day of great sacrifice, a day of great loss, a day where all Americans were New Yorkers; but it was also a day that served as a rallying, unifying day for our country as we saw Members of Congress gather on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, spontaneously breaking out into God Bless America.
Several days later as we saw President Bush come to the site and he told first responders that he heard them, that the world heard them, and soon those that knocked down these buildings would hear them.
And we know the response of our brave men and women in the United States military. How they went to Afghanistan, how they overthrew the Taliban government there, and then 10 years later were ultimately able to hunt down and kill the mastermind of 9/11, Osama bin Laden in that daring raid in Pakistan.
Those events of the last 20 years have all come flooding back over the last day.
It is our duty and our first and foremost duties as Members of Congress and, particularly, as Members of the [Committee on] Homeland Security to make sure that we prepare this nation – that we protect this nation from any future attacks.
There is nothing that we should hold more near and dear, no duty that we should treat any more importantly than our duty to protect the lives of American citizens, and it is my honor to join with Ranking Member Katko, with Chairman Thompson, other Members of the committee to be here today to celebrate and to remember the events that occurred on September 11, 2001.
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