It was only fitting that President Bush honor those who lost their lives on 9/11/01 fighting the terrorists on Flight 93. his speech was moving and he reflected upon another small town in Pennsylvania that had many heroes–Gettysburg.
Following his dedication, President Clinton spoke. He spoke of the Alamo and how the people knew they were going to die, but stayed the course. Both speeches were extremely moving. Bill Clinton said it was a disgrace that there was still 10 million more dollars to raise and he announced that he and Speaker Boehner had formed a bipartisan partnership to raise the rest of the cash for the memorial. He received a standing ovation.
CLINTON: So, since I am no longer in office, I can do unpopular things.
CLINTON: I told the secretary of the interior, the head of your development program, that I was aghast to find out that we still need to raise $10 million to finish this place. And Speaker Boehner and I have already volunteered to do a bipartisan event in Washington.
Let’s get this show on the road. Let’s roll. Thank you and God bless you.
Vice President Joe Biden was in attendance also and addressed the crowd. He was very gracious to both former presidents and spoke of his own personal losses generally and to reassure.
I am more convinced than ever that this National Memorial to the bravery of the passengers on Flight 93 is the right and proper acknowledgement of people who gave all so that others could live. They fought back.
President Bush was outstanding. Still hard to believe this is real and not a movie.
Wow, Clinton was amazing, he is such a natural at public speaking, he drew you into this story that was real, a real life story about regular people who did what is almost too much to comprehend, sacrafice their lives to save others.
And they lived nearly 2000 years ago…and he made you feel like you knew them. Yea, he definitely has a gift.