For the husband who told his wife I love you one last time before his plane went down in a field, for the wife who stopped in the stairs to call her husband to say I will love you forever, for the mothers and fathers who kissed their kids goodbye the morning they died, for the policemen who rushed in with the firemen to help get others out only to die themselves, for the soldiers who fought back and lost their lives. Today, tomorrow, ten years from now, we will remember.
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| Finish Line |
From the mountains to the ocean, Hawaii Pearl Harbor , more than a thousand runners hit the pavement early Sunday morning in the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run. The three mile course retraces the firefighter's final journey from the Brooklyn Battery tunnel to the Twin Towers World Trade Center
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| 5k completed, 25 mins 20 seconds. |
This year we observe the 10th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. There were many acts a bravery that occurred that day at the Twin Towers, The Pentagon, and on Flight 93. Friends and neighbors reached out to one another to help those in desperation and to honor the fallen.
Along with the acts of bravery, selflessness, and compassion, a renewed fervor was building. An awakening in America was taking place similar to that of December 8th, 1941 where President Roosevelt, reacting to the attacks on Pearl Harbor, stated before a combined session of Congress: “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.”
Shortly after the attacks on 9/11, at ground zero, President Bush responded to a member of the audience who couldn’t hear him by stating: “I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!” Subsequently, “a sleeping giant” was awakened. The American people answered the call and many of our finest Marines and Sailors are serving today because of what happened in that moment.
On this day of remembrance, you will hear many say “we will never forget;” however, remembrance in the absence of action in nothing more than a platitude. It is those, who have taken some action to make sure it never happens again, who convince us all that they will truly never forget. There are many different ways to serve but those we are most proud of are the men and women who serve in our nation’s military. They were fully aware of the risk, the burden, and the sacrifice that they were making when they volunteered to serve. Deployment to a combat zone was certain, and exchanging fire in combat was very likely. Knowing that, these fine Americans stepped forward to answer their nation’s call and said “send me.” Since that time, many have made the ultimate sacrifice in both Iraq and Afghanistan. They laid down their lives for their loved ones, their friends, and their country. Jesus proclaimed before his crucifixion that “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” If this is the ultimate measure of greatness, then we truly walk amongst giants.
With the volunteers who answered the call and joined the military came all of you: the families who make the sacrifices along side of us and certainly make it possible for us all to bear the burden. What we fight for is found in the crayoned pictures from our children, in a love note from a wife, in a care package, in the tears of a goodbye, and the overwhelming rush of a homecoming. It’s wrapped up in all of the little moments that we share that may seem insignificant at the time but are the reason why it hurts when we’re gone. Some may fight out of a sense of nationalistic fervor; however, for many it is the freedom and safety of their loved ones that drive them into harms way. This sentiment was best captured in the words of Thomas Paine: “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”
We have learned over time that liberty has no grandchildren and that each generation must defend the right to live free. With that challenge must come a renewed body of patriots who are so inclined to set aside their own safety, their own freedoms, and their comfort for the good of others; it truly is a brotherhood. Shakespeare said it best in the Saint Crispin’s Day Speech in Henry V: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me, Shall be my brother”
The 1stSgt and I are proud to serve with such a band of brothers in Afghanistan. They live up to the legacy of the Corps and stand firmly on the foundation of our Constitution to remind Americans who are free, and to set an example for those who still live under tyranny, that the cause of freedom is worth the sacrifice. We salute them, we honor them, and we give our thanks to them. It has been, and will continue to be, our honor to lead them.
With that we also give thanks to all of you. You, our military families, are the embodiment of what we love. Freedom without loved ones to share it with would be without substance. We couldn’t do it without you. “We will never forget” that each one of you gives us the reason to rise each day and renew our commitment. You give us the reason to hold each other accountable and firm in our calling. You give us the reason to represent ourselves and our Corps with honor. And most of all, you give us the reason to long for our return, to come home, to reap the rewards of freedom that we have sewn, so that we all may live in peace.
Tomorrow we’ll be closer to our reunion with all of you. Until next time, we remain, Semper Fidelis!
Capt Howard
1stSgt Heyward
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