September 11, 2001 will live in the hearts of all Americans forever. This web site shall stand as a constant reminder to those who lost their lives in this tragedy. Memorials built of brick and mortar take years to design and build. By the power of the Internet, we can touch the lives of millions in a matter of days.

This site is for you. The men and women of America whose lives changed forever on September 11, 2001. The "Wall of Americans" is restricted solely for those who lost their lives while on a flight, or while at work, or while trying to rescue those in need. If you'd like to show that your American spirit can not be broken, you are welcome to comment on the tragedy in the "comments" area.

Together, we as Americans will stand proud as we remember, respond, and recover.

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This is a personal story & account of events from the Washington DC area. Poignant, intense, definitely worth the read!

I'm sitting here at my desk this morning, drinking my coffee, with the TV quietly on in the background. Could be any morning, except it's not.

There are really no words to convey what yesterday was like here in DC, especially for those of us involved with the government. Like many of you, we watched with horror as the WTC Towers were hit, but it wasn't until the Pentagon was attacked that things went completely crazy here. The Capitol was evacuated immediately, and within thirty minutes the Capitol Police were visiting each congressional office and advising us to leave as soon as possible.

Walking outside, joining the streams of people who work on the Hill, what was most striking was the silence. No one was talking. The only thing you could hear were the sound of sirens. The smoke from the Pentagon could be seen clearly.

Planes overhead cause people to flinch visibly now, even though at this point they are the F-16s which have been in the air for almost twenty-four hours to defend the city. I still can't wrap my arms around the sight of watching a fighter plane fly low over the Capitol complex. It was astounding.

Traffic was gridlock. Metro was briefly shut down so they could perform a security sweep of the subway system, which delayed people further. Thankfully, I have friends on the Capitol police force who were able to give me a lift most of the way home. Spent most of the afternoon in a state of shock, glued to the television.

Because of my legislative work, I have lots of friends and colleagues who work at the Pentagon, many of whom have not been heard from yet. Around 10:00 last night, I got a call from the wife of one of the missing, and went down to sit with her and other family members at Fort Meade. I was there for most of the night, and the news isn't good. 800 casualties is likely not too high an exaggeration. We got no definitive word last night about their status, as search and rescue efforts continue to be hampered by the ongoing fires in the building.

I was driven home early this morning by one of the MPs, and the city was eerily quiet. No one was on the streets but police cars. On Wisconsin and M Streets, and all throughout Georgetown, there were Humvees on every other block and armed soldiers guarding the streets. Coupled with the F-16s flying in a constant pattern in the air above us, I was given a pretty clear idea of what it must be like living in a police state.

So now it's the morning after, and silence still hangs heavy in the air. Security around the Capitol is intense, and everyone looks shell-shocked. We haven't even begun to feel the ramifications of what has happened, but suffice to say the country will never be the same. I worry about what this means for my family and friends in the services. I worry about my Muslim and Arab-American friends, many of whom have already been subjected already to harassment. I worry that the civil liberties we value so highly will be restricted in a misguided attempt to make people feel safer. The building which stands as a symbol of our national security has been damaged severely, and I worry about the lasting impact of that image on our collective psyche.

But we are here this morning. The government is running. People are returning to work. We've been hurt, and hurt badly, but this country will pick up the pieces and move forward. We have to.

"Here I stand. I can do no other."

On the way home this morning, we drove past the Pentagon as they were raising the American flag over the building once again. It was a heartbreaking sight, with the huge gash in the building visible behind it and smoke still trickling out, but I can't recall a time when I was more proud of this country or the small role I play in keeping it running.

Peace be with all of you. Stay safe and take care.

-Celi

Original script of Gordon Sinclair's commentary as broadcast on CFRB in
Toronto, Canada, June 5, 1973:

"The Americans"

The United States dollar took another pounding on German, French and British exchanges this morning, hitting the lowest point ever known in West Germany.

It has declined there by 41% since 1971 and this Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least-appreciated people in all the earth.

As long as sixty years ago, when I first started to read newspapers, I read of floods on the Yellow River and the Yangtse. Who rushed in with men and money to help?

The Americans did.

They have helped control floods on the Nile, the Amazon, the Ganges and the Niger. Today, the rich bottom land of the Misssissippi is under water and no foreign land has sent a dollar to help.

Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of those countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.

When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it is the United States that hurries into help... Managua Nicaragua is one of the most recent examples. So far this spring, 59 American communities have been flattened by tornadoes. Nobody has helped. The Marshall Plan .. the Truman Policy .. all pumped billions upon billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now, newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent war-mongering Americans. I'd like to see one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplanes. Come on... let's hear it!

Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tristar or the Douglas 107? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all international lines except Russia fly American planes? Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or women on the moon? You talk about Japanese technocracy and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy and you find men on the moon, not once, but several times ... and safely home again. You talk about scandals and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everyone to look at. Even the draft dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, most of them ... unless they are breaking Canadian laws..are getting American dollars from Ma and Pa at home to spend here. When the Americans get out of this bind ... as they will... who could blame them if they said 'the hell with the rest of the world'. Let someone else buy the Israel bonds, Let someone else build or repair foreign dams or design foreign buildings that won't shake apart in earthquakes.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke. I can name to you 5,000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble?

I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake. Our neighbours have faced it alone and I am one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of these. But there are many smug, self-righteous Canadians.

And finally, the American Red Cross was told at its 48th Annual meeting in New Orleans this morning that it was broke. This year's disasters .. with the year less than half-over… has taken it all and nobody...but nobody... has helped.

ORIGINAL SCRIPT AND AUDIO COURTESY STANDARD BROADCASTING CORPORATION LTD. (c) 1973 BY GORDON SINCLAIR