Reflections on the 9-11 Attacks

The cowardly attacks on the US on September 11th, 2001 changed the course of history. We still have not grasped the magnitude of the hatred which spawned this demonic outpouring. Today, Sunday, September 9th, 2007... we remembered and honored those who died that day. Memorial Park on Palm Coast Parkway was the scene, where hundreds of military veterans, Red Knights, Blue Knights, Rolling Thunder bikers, and Freedom Walkers gathered. The Ancient City Bagpipers played and the FPC Junior ROTC posted the colors. It was a fitting memorial, as we continue to wrestle with the unthinkable. I was honored to have been asked to address the crowd with the following remarks:

Rolling Thunder – Red Knights – Blue Knights RE/MAX Freedom Walk – 9/11 Memorial Remarks – 09/09/2007 (Good morning everyone. My name is Frank Zedar. I’m a twenty year veteran of the U.S. Army. I fought with the 196th Infantry Brigade in Viet Nam in 1968-1969. Hello to you brothers here today from those years. It is a privilege to be asked to make these remarks here today.) Depending on our ages, there are dates that all of us remember. They are branded in our minds – Never to be forgotten. We recall with clarity such events as VE Day… VJ Day… Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon… The assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King… But the dates which resonate from deep within us and arouse our most basic passions are: · December 7th, 1941: The day which will live in infamy… The day on which the sleeping giant was awakened… The day Pearl Harbor was attacked. And… · September 11th, 2001: The day on which the most cowardly act in modern history was executed against the United States. A day on which nearly 3,000 people lost their lives at the hands of a band of savage terrorists, hell-bent on spewing God-less hatred into the very heart of freedom. Yes, nearly 3,000 innocent Civilians, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Firefighters, Law Enforcement Officers, Flight Crew Members and Passengers… All Gone. All of us here today remember where we were and what we were doing when someone told us that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. “How unfortunate,” we thought, “how could a pilot get in such a predicament?” Then we turned on the TV and watched… stunned… as the nightmare unraveled before our eyes. · Two huge aircraft slamming into the towers… on purpose… over and over in slow motion. · Terrified office workers plummeting from the inferno to the sidewalks below. · Panicked people running through the streets… away from the danger… And · Firefighters and Policemen running into the danger zone… putting themselves selflessly in harm’s way. · Another plane – this one flying low and burying itself into the Pentagon – just a mile or so from the White House… and The U.S. Capitol. How could this be happening? Was this the start of WWIII? · And yet another plane. This one crashing into a field in Pennsylvania, its evil mission of destruction having been thwarted by heroic passengers. So here we are – six years later. Still licking our wounds and living in a world forever changed. The Soviet Union and the nearly fifty years long Cold War are no more. However, now the specter of global terrorism looms large and ugly. We lash out against our enemy, yet he is stealthy and cowardly, often choosing women and children and the elderly as targets for his suicide bombs. “Dear God,” we ask ourselves, “Why?” “Why do they hate us so?” Those of you who are here today know that it’s a one word answer: Freedom! And freedom comes with a price. And it’s that price paid that we are here today to honor. To our men and women in military uniform who died that day… and to those who continue the fight. To our Firefighters and Law Enforcement Personnel who died that day. Thank you. We will never forget you. Thank you from deep down inside us. Thank you all for coming today. It’s important that we not forget. END (Frank Zedar – 09/09/2007)