Mayor Silberberg: 'To Remember and to Hope'

Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg delivered remarks Saturday in Alexandria at a ceremony commemorating the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The following are her full remarks:

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- "I would like to extend a warm welcome to each of you. Thank you for being here as we join together on this 15th anniversary of the unthinkable tragedies of September 11, 2001. The fact that tomorrow, September 11 th , will mark 15 years since that time is a stark reminder of the passage of time. Across our great country, and around the world, the citizens of the world are pausing to remember 9/11, as it has become known.

Joining me here today are Members of Council and Senior City Staff. (Introduce those in attendance.) I would like to express my personal and deep gratitude to the 9/11 Remembrance Committee. In particular, I would like to express special thanks to Lieutenant General Robert Wood (U.S. Army) and Colonel John Sims for their dedication to this commemoration, to Capitol Post, and to those who serve and all our veterans.

My thanks as well go to Thomas Booth, who is here representing John Strongbow’s Tavern, which will be hosting a reception at 6 p.m. tonight following this gathering. Our thanks to Strongbow’s Tavern for organizing and arranging this for us. Mr. Booth served as a Green Beret, serving 11 years in our Armed Forces.

My thanks also go to others who made today possible, including: Joseph Shumard, who is the Chair of the George Washington Birthday Committee; Ryan Misero, who is an Active Duty Green Beret; Chris Valley, who is the Executive Director of Coast to Coast and who is also an Active Duty Green Beret. Our thanks to all of you for your service and commitment.

My thanks to our outstanding City Staff, including: Lt. Jerry Newcomb, who serves in the Alexandria Police Department and who is a Veteran; Captain Donald Hayes of the Alexandria Police Department; Rick Muse, Jr. of the Alexandria Fire Department; Melissa Riddy of the Alexandria Office of Communications; Maureen Sturgill of our city’s Office of Special Events; and huge thanks to Cheryl Lawrence of our city’s Office of Special Events. Ms. Lawrence is the one who has taken the lead on this commemoration for us. Thank you, Cheryl Lawrence.

I also wish to recognize and thank the Honor Guard Presenters: Sgt. Mitch Grossman of the Alexandria Police; Sheriff Timothy Gleason of the Alexandria Sheriff’s Department; and others in the Honor Guard today. Again, our deep thanks to all those who helped make this gathering possible. Thank you for all you do for our veterans, for our city, and for our country. Your dedication and sacrifice are undeniable."

Remembrance and Hope

"This is a solemn occasion. It is a time to remember and to hope.

All of us remember that fateful day. We remember the moment we heard and the images we saw and the phone calls to loved ones. The tears, the anguish, the disbelief. The silence in the crisp blue skies. The sound of sirens deep into the night.

The loss of life on those planes, inside the World Trade Center buildings, at the Pentagon, in a field in Pennsylvania.

The unbelievable courage of the passengers on the planes and those on the ground. Let’s roll became the rallying cry on Flight 93. It became our shaken nation’s rallying cry.

We hold in our hearts the families and countless circles of friends who lost a beloved. All the children who lost a parent. And the children yet unborn who never met their fathers. All those children are at least 15 years old. Lives forever altered. It is personal. It was and is horrific.

We all remember. It understandably gives us pause today, all these years later. And so we come together as a community and as a nation. For those who are too young to remember, you can see the pain in our faces.

We salute all the first responders in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. You are heroes, too. So many first responders perished running into burning buildings as citizens were running out. Our very own Fire Chief Robert Dube was among those first responders who went to the Pentagon. Thank you, Chief Dube.

All those lives. All those years ago. Yet, in the marrow of our bones, it is as if it were yesterday.

I was in New York City in recent months and finally had the fortitude to see the memorials where the World Trade Center buildings stood. A brand new skyscraper now rises above and speaks volumes about our nation’s resilience. But it is those peaceful memorials, their simplicity, the sound of the water cascading in an endless loop, the names engraved. The memorials rekindle one’s sorrow and sets forth a wave of reflection. We go there and we stand here to bear witness. We do so together – here, around our country, and around our world.

We as a country carry on. We always will remain steadfast as a nation and as a people. Many seasons have come and gone. The grove of trees at the memorials is beginning to grow stronger as time has allowed.

It is now a time to remember and to hope. To remember what has been, to remember their courage, and to know that they would want us to stay strong and to carry on. It is a time to hope, to hope for a day when the world is at peace and there is more understanding and acceptance, when hatred is no more. It is not we alone who pray at this time of remembrance and hope. The prayers are throughout the world.

Aeschylus wrote, “Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”

And so we will carry on with insurmountable strength and determination. May our lives be a blessing and continue to help build that world of peace. May our lives be one link in a chain of goodness.

May God bless you and watch over you. God bless the City of Alexandria. And God bless our country. Thank you."

PHOTOS of Mayor Allison Silberberg, Alexandria Harmonizers, men and woman of AFD Saturday courtesy of Alexandria Fire-EMS