Trent Lott: “this day, September 11, is its own memorial. A year ago I got a call from my daughter, expressing her horror and her…”

“this day, September 11, is its own memorial. A year ago I got a call from my daughter, expressing her horror and her sorrow on this, her birthday--and only 2 weeks after her new daughter was born. She talked about how ``I will just change my birth date. I will celebrate it a day earlier.'' She asked me, ``What exactly is this situation in this world I have brought my daughter into?'' It struck me that she would have those questions and those concerns, and what she had seen that day. She worried about what it means for the future. I talked to her this morning on her birthday. She celebrates her birthday today, as she should--not just because it was the day she was born but because she now realizes that in some ways, in spite of her horror, this is an even more special day--this is Patriots Day. So my special pen from the Pentagon service will go to my daughter on this day because I think in a way how she felt a year ago and how she feels today reflects what we have all gone through and what we have experienced. The truth is that this day doesn't really require any speeches or ceremonies, though we certainly will have them all day long. We really need no monument to remind us of the suffering and sorrow that befell our country 1 year ago today. As we sat there next to the wall of the Pentagon, I kept thinking about the innocent men, women, and children who lost their lives so inexplicably and so mercilessly on that day.”