Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), in a speech Sunday at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, honored the brave men and women aboard United Airlines Flight 93 who saved American lives, including possibly his own.
The full transcript is below.
Thank you Senator Casey, Representative Shuster, Secretary Jewell, the members of the Park Service. Special acknowledgement and thanks to the "Friends of Flight 93" for having me here today. I am honored to be in the presence of the family and friends of the heroes of Flight 93, Reverend Britton, and Mr. Felt.
Part of the story of September 11th, 2001, of course, is the story of darkness, of the most brutal and degraded aspects of humanity, and of the many innocent lives lost at the hands of terrorists.
But in the face of that darkness, September 11th also reminds us of the best of humanity. The heroes who were all around us on that day. Americans who performed extraordinary acts of valor and self-sacrifice.
We remember the first responders who ran up the stairs in the World Trade Center to save lives and to enable other people to run down.
We remember the military and civilian employees at the Pentagon, who rescued their colleagues from the burning debris.
And of course, the forty passengers and crew members of Flight 93 who died here, and sacrificed their lives, to save an unknown number of others.
So this place, this memorial, their heroism, the memory, are all very personal for me and my family. Like many, I believe that the target of Flight 93 was the U.S Capitol. I was working in the Capitol as a Member of Congress that day. And so it's entirely possible, that because of the heroes of Flight 93, I was able to go home to my family. My wife was spared being widowed. Our two older children grew up with their father, and our youngest was able to be born.
So we will never be able to find the words to adequately express the appreciation that we have to the forty heroes of Flight 93. But what we can do is we can do our part to keep the memory alive. And we have a duty to do this, for this and for future generations. To remember both the evil that killed nearly three thousand people, but also the virtuousness and the bravery that saved so many more.
So my wife Kris and I have often spoken with our children about the courageous act of the forty on Flight 93. And in fact, two years ago Kris and our kids were here, for the groundbreaking of the beautiful visitor center and learning center, driving in the stakes that define the ground for which the visitor complex would be built. This is just one small way that we can do our part to remember the important history that occurred here.
As much, or maybe more, than any other state, the grounds of Pennsylvania have been hallowed by critical moments in American history: Fort Necessity, Valley Forge, Gettysburg, and fifteen years ago today, in this field, history was made again.
Our state is the birthplace of heroes; it's the final resting place of heroes. And our country and the world are safer, and more free because of them. The passengers and crew of Flight 93 are among our heroes right here in Pennsylvania.
God bless the souls and the memory of those brave Americans, and God bless America.
Thank You
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