On September 10, 2001, at 9:30 am, I was in a meeting at the Port Authority’s office in the World Trade Center Building. One day later, 2,977 men and women died. There but for the grace of God go I.

All Americans remember where we were when the Towers went down. We remember the courage of the firefighters and police who ran into buildings to save lives while they were risking theirs and the spirit and largeness of thousands of everyday men and women who donated blood at hospitals and reached out to the families of victims to give their comfort and support.

America was shaken, but we were not broken.

Emperor Haile Selassie said, after Ethiopia was invaded by the Nazis, “We must become bigger than we have been: more courageous, greater in spirit, larger in outlook.”  On September 11, 2001, America didn’t have to become bigger, greater or larger. America demonstrated to the world our unity, our strength and our resolve.

On this 9/11 memorial remembrance, we mourn those who died and give comfort to their families. They will always be in our thoughts and prayers. We also celebrate the courage, the spirit and the large outlook of America through the observation of a National Day of Remembrance and Service.

President Reagan said, “I have always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage.”

America will always rise up and have that special kind of courage to overcome any adversity. God Bless America.