Rodney Frelinghuysen: “This Sunday, September 11, marks the 15th anniversary of the vicious attacks on America. I very much appreciate the…”

“This Sunday, September 11, marks the 15th anniversary of the vicious attacks on America. I very much appreciate the leadership's scheduling a commemoration on the steps of the Capitol tomorrow morning, but more needs to be said as, I fear, time and events have dulled our memories. In addition, our Nation has grown by over 60 million since September 11, 2001--children born after the towers came down, including the 13,000 babies who came into this world on that incredible day. Unlike the rest of us, they have no direct memories of these horrendous events that changed our Nation forever as hate-filled extremists struck in the streets of Lower Manhattan, in the fields of Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon. Over 700 citizens from my State of New Jersey died on that day. Our mere words cannot possibly capture the sentiments that surround September 11. So in lieu of extended, formal remarks, I would like to read, as I have in past years, ``The Names,'' a poem written by the then-poet laureate Billy Collins, which he read before a congressional joint session in New York City just after the attacks which Members of Congress heard firsthand. ``The Names'' By Billy Collins Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night. A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze, And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows, I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened, Then Baxter and Calabro, Davis and Eberling, names falling into place As droplets fell through the dark.…”