Chuck Fleischmann remembers September 11, 2001

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Chuck Fleischmann remembered the attacks of September 11, 2001.

"We all remember where we were ten years ago when we first heard that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and we realized that our nation was under attack. I was at my desk at work that day, and it will forever be etched in my memory; the sights of the burning buildings, people running everywhere, the collapse of the towers and the knowledge that thousands had died. On this anniversary, we remember those who died in the towers, the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania. We remember the first responders in New York City and at the Pentagon who rushed into the burning rubble to save who they could. And we remember the heroes of Flight 93 who saved our country from even greater destruction and loss of life," Fleischmann said.

"I have seen first-hand what terrorism can do, as I was on the London Underground when it was bombed in 2005. That experience made it all the more evident to me how brave so many Americans were on September 11. They saw friends, relatives and complete strangers in need and they did not wait. That day was tragic on so many levels, but it also revealed the best of the American spirit. Our fellow countrymen and women came together for the victims, for the heroes and for the justice that needed to be served on those who committed the atrocious acts. America became stronger that day; our will tested and our perseverance proven.

"Ten years later we remember the fallen and their families, and once again thank the heroes of that day. God bless the United States of America."

Tomorrow, Congressman Fleischmann will be the keynote speaker at the 9/11 regional ceremony at the Chattanooga Green in front of the Blue Plate Restaurant. The ceremony begins at 3 p.m., after a processional and memorial march down Market Street.

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