James Moran: “on September 11, the world watched in horror as the primary symbols of our Nation's strength and prosperity were…”

“on September 11, the world watched in horror as the primary symbols of our Nation's strength and prosperity were attacked. There is an aching in our hearts as we mourn for the senseless loss of life, and we share the grief of the victims' families, friends, and coworkers. As the list of casualties from the World Trade Towers, from the Pentagon, and from Pennsylvania grows to 6,500, it is frightening to imagine that the toll would have been higher, even higher, were it not for the extraordinary courage and valor exhibited by our firefighters, police officers, and emergency rescue workers. For this reason I rise today to pay homage to all emergency service personnel, but particularly to the brave and heroic men and women of the Arlington County, City of Alexandria, and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and Police Department. These, along with the Federal firefighters at Fort Myer, are the emergency service personnel who first responded to the attack on the Pentagon. If there is one thing that distinguishes firefighters from the rest of us, it is that they are trained to run toward a blaze while the rest of us run away from it.”