Remembering the Sept. 11 attacks

This month marks the fourth anniversary of a day we will never

forget. On Sept. 11, 2001, 3,000 people died in New York City,

Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

Victims included firefighters and police officers who were

gallantly saving their fellow citizens from the burning World Trade

Center buildings; military personnel on duty at the Pentagon; and

hundreds of others who were simply doing what they did every day.

Fifty Californians died that day. They were people like David and

Lynn Angell of Pasadena, who were passengers on American Airlines

Flight 11, en route to Los Angeles from Boston; and Yeoman 2nd Class

Melissa Rose Barnes of Redlands, a sailor working at the Pentagon

during the time of the attack.

Learning about the victims’ lives -- their family, careers, hopes

and accomplishments -- is one way to personalize a national tragedy.

In fact, I believe it to be the highest form of remembrance. The men

and women who died that day might be numbers to the enemy, but to me

they are heroes, and I want their surviving families to know they did

not die in vain.

We must also remember Sept. 11, 2001, for something else it

represents: the moment when life as we knew it changed. Most people

will be able to tell you exactly where they were when they first

heard the news. The victims were mourned with great sincerity, and

the images of the tragedy quickly became ingrained in our minds and

hearts. All the while, the flag of our nation looked more vibrant

than ever. From that day on, Americans lived their lives a little bit

differently.

In past wars, our enemy had a face and a nation. This time, the

enemy was elusive, almost invisible. We found out that Al-Qaida, an

international terrorist network with membership in the thousands

worldwide, hated our way of life.

Al-Qaida proved to be a methodical and unconscionable enemy,

sending its members to live in America, blending in seamlessly with

our communities and then attacking the very country they had called

home.

With indomitable spirit and great determination, however, the

United States battled back. Our soldiers captured or killed many of

the terrorist leaders in Afghanistan, and we cut off their funding

supplies. As a community, we dutifully supported our troops.

I will never forget Sept. 11, 2001, and by keeping the day alive

in our hearts and minds, we will continue to fight the enemy and show

them that in America, every life counts.

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Tom Harman is Huntington Beach’s Assemblyman. He

also represents the communities of Seal Beach, Cypress, La Palma and

Los Alamitos and portions of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Westminster and

Stanton.