Daniel Akaka: “no words can ever convey our regrets, our sadness, our shock, our loss from the great tragedy of September 11, 2001. The…”

“no words can ever convey our regrets, our sadness, our shock, our loss from the great tragedy of September 11, 2001. The newness of the century, of a millennium, has been tarnished forever by the blood of innocent victims shed by anonymous assassins, terrorists whose only motivation is an evil hatred. All our prayers are with the victims and their families and friends. When the final list of casualties is known, I am certain that every state, and perhaps every nation in the world, will have been touched by this calamity. Our prayers will be with them forever. We will remember each and everyone as long as we live and then our descendants will remember them too. It will be their memories that guide us in the difficult days ahead. Their deaths have reminded us of our common humanity, that what we share is greater than what separates us, and that the fabric of beliefs which makes us Americans is strong enough to resist any cowardly act by terrorists. Where one American falls, another will stand. Each of us shine as a beacon of our shared beliefs in freedom, liberty and justice. In the dawn after this dark day we will all shine. Those who expect us to be weakened will be sadly mistaken. Those who think Americans are soft and fearful will be astonished by our strength and determination. I was a young man when Pearl Harbor was attacked. I witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese torpedo and bomber planes from my dormitory in the hills above Pearl Harbor.”