The Seventh Anniversary of 9-11

    It is a piece of our nation’s history that will endure forever… vividly and tragically.

    Today marks the seventh anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.

    September 11, 2001 became one of the worst days in our nation’s history.  Its horror played out on live television.

    Terrorists turned four jetliners into flying bombs.

    Over 2600 people died in the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

    125 were killed at the Pentagon.

    Aboard the four planes, 256 people died.

    The death toll was even greater than the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 that pulled our nation into World War Two.

    This time, we were pulled into a war on terror that continues seven years later.

    9-11 is a day to remember the victims of a savage attack, to pray for them and their families, to pray for the safety and preservation of our great country.

    It is a day to remind our military (including our veterans)... and our emergency responders, including law enforcement, firefighters and EMS personnel… how much we appreciate the sacrifice their families and they make to preserve not only our freedoms, but our lives.

    They keep this world from spinning into chaos.  They stand in the gap.

    Each of us remembers where we were when the 9-11 attacks happened, how we reacted, the emotions of the day.

    I received a touching poem about 9-11 written by Dave Shafto, a disabled former emergency responder and now a fire commissioner with the North Spartanburg Fire District.  This is an exerpt from his poem:

    “So when a fire truck goes by today

    To Heaven above please pray

    A prayer for your local firefighter

    They may save someone you love.“

    Amen, Brother Dave.

    This day, and every day, God Bless America.