In Memory: Terrorist Attacks on New York, Pennsylvania and Washington (standard:non fiction, 828 words)
Author: Red Storm	Added: Sep 13 2001	Views/Reads: 3167/1	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
This is not a story, poem, or other form of entertainment. It is simply a few thoughts, in memory of those who lost their lives this past week.

First of all, I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to
each and every family and victim of this past week's terrorist attack 
on Washington, D.C., New York, and Pennsylvania. I know that nothing I 
can say will fix the immense evil that has been done here, but 
hopefully it will comfort you to know that others feel your pain. So 
many lives cut short, so many lives never started. I noticed that one 
of the passengers on an airliner was only 2 months old. This is truly 
the worst kind of grief that is possible to suffer. 

To everyone involved in the search and rescue effort, I want to wish you
Godspeed. There are still people who depend on you, and I am proud to 
see my fellow Americans working with such heart and determination to 
assure that each life is saved. I know that most are working 24-hour 
shifts, and this is truly a testament to your humanity. 

To those who survived the attacks, may God help you live with the things
that you've seen. Death and destruction surrounded you, and you came 
out knowing that life would never be the same. I pray that mercy will 
be given to those who were forced to jump out of the buildings as the 
fire engulfed their offices. I pray for those who never knew what hit 
them, and I pray for those of you who have seen things that you will 
see every night for the rest of your lives. May God bless you all, and 
I hope that He will help you find peace though these ghosts haunt your 
minds. 

To the passengers on each of the airplanes, who knew before anyone on
the ground that disaster was about to happen, I want to say I'm sorry 
that your lives were used in this way. I cannot imagine the fear that 
you all must have felt, or the terror as your plane was overtaken by 
cowardly rogues on a mission of death. They were prepared to lose their 
lives, but you were not. For those men who attempted to resist the 
hijackers, God bless you for your courage. If not for you, that fourth 
plane would have found its mark on the White House or Camp David. 
Truly, each one of you is a hero that I admire and respect. I only wish 
that, in my own death, I could know that I served innocent people in 
the wonderful and selfless way that you did. To the men and women who 
risked immediate death to make calls from cell phones in the sky, 
informing us thousands of feet below of your situations, take pride in 
knowing that we identified those responsible through your brave 
actions. 

Though most Americans were not physically endangered by these attacks,
we were all mentally and emotionally attacked. We are there in spirit 
with you all, and we will stand by you forever as one nation. To the 
countries so far away who have expressed sorrow and anger over these 
matters, thank you all for more than you can imagine. Just knowing that 
our allies are saddened by our great loss is comforting in a time of 
chaos. I sincerely want to thank the NATO countries, who have confirmed 
their involvement in this matter. I also want to thank the Russian and 
Chinese officals, who have also voiced their support. 

And to those who perpetrated this attack: If you believe in a cause, it
is important to stand firm and have your voice heard. This brings about 
change, and change is what you seek. Acts of this fashion never make 
your collective voice louder or better heard, they silence you. For we 
no longer seek to listen to your voice, we seek to end it once and for 
all. We, the free nations of the world, will defend that freedom with 
each and every last breath we take, just as you have sworn to do for 
your cause. Freedom will never die, and neither will the love that this 
world shares. To you, I say that I am sorry that you cannot understand 
freedom. I'm sorry that you must resort to these evil deeds in order to 
find meaning in life, and I'm sorry that you have brought death upon 
yourselves. 

We Americans are not arrogant, ignorant people who think that our way of
life and our culture is better than others. We don't think of any 
nation as being inferior to ourselves, and never have. These are common 
misconceptions about Americans, like so many rumors that are spread 
through a school about the new kid. As an American, I can honestly say 
that we have loved, do love, and always will love every single nation 
on this planet who simply wants to live, and not to destroy innocent 
life. Thank you all for everything you have done or said in this time 
of trial, and God bless you all. 


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