Durbin: 9/11 Attack Will Forever Be Imprinted On Our Nation's Collective Memory

09.11.24

Durbin: 9/11 Attack Will Forever Be Imprinted On Our Nation's Collective Memory

In speech on the Senate floor, Durbin marks the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attack and remembers those lost

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor recognizing the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. During his speech, Durbin recalled the sobering day and honored the innocent lives lost during the horrendous attacks.

"Today marks the 23rd year since one of the darkest days in our country's history - the attacks of September 11, 2001. I can vividly recall that day. I was in this building, just a few feet away [from the Senate floor], in a room for a morning meeting. We happened to notice the television set that was being played in the room. There was some news about a tower somewhere in New York being struck by an airplane. We didn't know much more about it. Then a second plane went into the adjoining tower. We knew something was dreadfully wrong," Durbin began.

"Then we looked out on the [National] Mall, down the Mall from the Capitol building, and saw black, billowing smoke coming from the Pentagon," Durbin said. "That image is seared into my mind, and that day will forever be imprinted on our nation's collective memory."

Durbin went on to remember the innocent lives lost during the horrendous attacks, as well as the first responders who bravely tended to the scene.

"Twenty-three years after that devastating day, we still mourn the 2,977 innocent lives lost at the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Virginia, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania," Durbin continued.

"That includes 343 heroic members of the New York City Fire Department, 71 law enforcement officers who died at the World Trade Center, and 55 military personnel who died at the Pentagon," Durbin said.

Durbin concluded his tribute by encouraging Americans to reflect on the day's events.

"We continue to reflect on how those acts of pure evil forever altered our sense of security and safety and how we must remain faithful to the Constitution while protecting the American people," Durbin said.

Video of Durbin's remarks on the floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the floor is available here for TV Stations.

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