Do you recall where you were and what you were doing the morning of September 11, 2001? Did you call a loved one or friend to make sure they had heard the horrible news and were okay? Did you hug your child extra tight when they returned home from school? Are the images of everyday ordinary people, who were just like you and me, jumping out of the twin towers still vivid in your memory? They are in mine.

Almost 3,000 husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends lost their lives that day in New York, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania. Approximately ten percent of them were public safety-first responders including firefighters and police officers. When attacked that day, they did not hesitate to respond. They did not retreat.

Twenty-one years later we still face a persistent enemy who is more than ever determined to destroy the freedoms we cherish. Edmund Burke once said that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing. I have never been a hero, but I have served with heroes. Not professional athletes or actors…..the real kind of heroes. The United States military and public safety men and women first responders, many who have made the ultimate sacrifice, who will never let this determined evil destroy us. Take a moment to remember and thank them as you are out and about in our community.

But they cannot do it alone. We must all be committed to protecting our freedoms in what will continue to be a long and costly struggle. The very first counterattack against the terrorists 21 years ago was initiated by ordinary people put in an extraordinary circumstance in the sky over Pennsylvania with the simple phrase…..”Let’s roll.”