Thank you for joining us. Guest my pleasure. Host that is it for todays shortened program. We will be back again tomorrow morning at 7 00 a. M. Eastern, live on cspan. Now we take you alive to the 9 11 commemoration ceremony happening right now at the pentagon. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the United States department of defense, we welcome you to our annual remembrance ceremony. [indiscernible] please stand for the arrival of the official party. Ladies and gentlemen, the secretary of defense, Lloyd James Austin iii, the chairman of the joint chief of staff, general millay. Milley. Please remain standing for the National Anthem performed by the United States nation band. O say, can you see, by the dawns early light whatso proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there o say, does that starspangled banner yet wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave. Please be seated. [reading names] Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me i once was lost, but now im found was blind but now i see twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved how precious did that grace appear the hour i first believed Amazing Grace the lord has promised good to me his word my hope secures he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures. Through many dangers, toils, and snares i have already come this grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home Amazing Grace. Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me i once was lost, but now am found was blind, but now i see. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the invocation. Will you help me pray this morning . God, we think you first for the Many Blessings you have bestowed upon this amazing country. The freedoms that we appreciate, the leaders that we have, the amazing support that we see this morning. We pause this morning to remember the 184 lives lost here as well as those in new york and pennsylvania from the deadliest attack on american soil in our history. We remember their names that were just read, we were member their dreams, their families, some that are here today that represent them. We remember the emergency responders, the more than 400 police, over 344 firefighters and nearly 7000 military Service Members that gave of themselves in service to our country to rescue, to protect fellow americans. We remember our countrys leadership and all they did to ensure this would never happen again. From our president on 2001, had stated a great people that had been moved to defend a great nation. In 2010, he said we stand with one another, we fight alongside one another. We do not allow ourselves to be defined by fear but by the hopes we have for our families, for our nation, for a brighter future. In 2020, in the memory of the lives lost, we resolved to stand united, one american nation, to different our freedoms, uphold our values, to love our neighbors, to cherish our country, to care for our communities, to honor our heroes, and to never ever forget. As we enter the 23rd year after that fateful day, we always recall the 23rd psalm. Even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil for you are with me. God, whatever valley that we might face as a nation, may we remember this day, those that were here, those that served across this great country and those that stood for a cause greater than themselves, those that stood up to serve their fellow americans. May we always remember that day, live our lives in reflection, to cherish the freedoms, the Many Blessings, the amazing liberties, the United States of america. For god and country, amen. Please remain standing for a moment of silence and remember ends of the lives lost on september 11, 2001. Please, be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, general mark a. Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Gen. Milley secretary austen, distinguished guests, most importantly, the survivors and families of the fallen, thank you all for participating in this mornings ceremony. Today, we pay tribute to the 2977 innocent men, women and children who lost their lives 22 years ago today at this very minute. The incompetence of the lacks of september 11 created a void in our nation left by the thousands who never return home. Their families feel the absence of fathers and mothers and sons and daughters at birthdays and holidays and graduations and weddings. And at ordinary days of the week when their loss suddenly moves them yet again. Today, today, we honor those who perished. Today, we uphold our direct promise to never forget. At9 37 a. M. , right now, 22 years ago, on september 11, 2001, American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the pentagon, right about where we are. 184 souls were murdered as terrorism battered americas shores. The hijackers were driven by a twisted ideology rooted in hatred and oppression, and they took the lives of the 59 passengers and crew and the 125 of our pentagon colleagues. Those terrorists hated america. They hated our constitution and the values that bind us together as a nation. They hated freedom and democracy and the idea that we are all equal. Those terrorists wanted to destroy our country. But on that day, and every day since, the United States has demonstrated that we would never bow to fear and hatred. Momentarily shaken, the United States rose from the ashes of the World Trade Center, the pentagon, and a field in pennsylvania to show the world that we were still standing, that we could not be toppled, that terror would never destroy us. The new York City Fire department arrived at the World Trade Center within six minutes of the plane colliding into the building. Firefighters, First Responders and everyday heroes led thousands of survivors down dozens of flights of stairs, making repeated trips back into the building, sacrificing their lives so that others may live. Four people they had never met. The passengers and crew on united flight 93 back saving perhaps thousands on the ground. Fought back saving perhaps thousands on the ground. At the pentagon, many were rescued by colleagues. Through sheer will and their own knowledge of the building, they plunged into the smoke and debris, fearless, without regard to their own life, they plunged into that horror that lit up the corridors to seek out the bloody and burned survivors and deliver them from the inferno. Amidst the explosions, the fire and the terror, ordinary americans demonstrated extraordinary valor and courage. Despite the loss of 125 of our colleagues and a gaping, smoking hole between corridors 4 and 5 of the pentagon, it did not close. The leaders of the day assured the American Public that the world, that the doors of the pentagon would be opened again on september 12. And indeed, the next day, thousands of military, civilian and contractors showed up for work, some before sunrise with renewed purpose and determination as the American Flag unfolded over the gaping hole. The building was still on fire get these incredible men and women continued to defend our democracy and nation. Over the past 22 years, many more have chosen to step forward and serve the cause of freedom. Every single day, the men and women who have worn the cloth of our nation have protected and defended the principles that were under attack that day. Today, we honor and remember those we lost on that fateful morning. We continue to stand watch on freedoms frontier around the world to ensure that those who have fallen did not die in vain. Today, we reaffirm our resolve to ensure that our experiments in Liberty Continues for future generations. 22 years ago, hatred and terror did not win. It did not destroy america. Freedom and democracy and the very pillars of this great nation continue to endure. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce our secretary of defense, the honorable lloyd j. Austin iii. Thank you and may god bless the fallen, their families and may god bless the United States of america. Sec. Austin thank you, general milley. Good morning, everyone. I am absolutely honored to be here with all of you on this day of remembrance and resolve. I am especially moved to be here with the family members of those we lost, the survivors of the attacks, the First Responders who raced to save innocent lives. To the families and loved ones of the 184 people who lost their lives on 9 11 here at the pentagon and on flight 77. Let me extend my deepest condolences on behalf of the department of defense. I know that being here is hard. I know that it aches to remember this milestone year after year. And i know that nothing can make it right. As the years go by, it may feel that the world is moving on or even forgetting what happened here on september 11, 2001. But please know this, the men and women of the department of defense will always remember. And we will always honor the memory of our fallen teammates. And we will always strive to be worthy of the memory of those we lost. September 11 reminds us that the american spirit still shines in times of testing. After the attacks, amid the horror and the grief, Many Americans felt a deeper sense of duty to their communities and to their country. And all around the country, with hearts breaking for the slain and the suffering, americans looked within themselves and felt called to give back. In those terrible first hours and days, people rushed to give blood, to volunteer in hospitals or to hand out food and water to exhausted First Responders. And here at the pentagon, an Outstanding Group of employees and volunteers got a Family Assistance Center up and running in less than a day. Over the next month, over 2500 people volunteered there. And so they worked long hours to serve hot meals and provide counseling and offer medical care and help families through their grief. You know, not every active service was monumental. We remember a hug for a soldier on the streets of manhattan. For a childs handwritten thank you card for a firefighter. But every act of grace changed us, drawing out a strength and sense of common purpose that became part of the story of that day. And part of the story of our country. As the months and years went by, Many Americans chose to help those in need or to fortify our security in a newly uncertain world. September 11 made america a nation at war. Hundreds of thousands stepped up to serve our country in uniform. The wars in iraq and afghanistan have come to a close, but we remain relentlessly focused on combating terrorist threats to america. I want to thank all of my fellow veterans who served in combat during two hard decades of war after 9 11 as well as their families for all that they gave. The courage and the compassion that we witnessed after september 11 were even more extraordinary when they came from americans who lost loved ones. I am thinking today of someone who was born in South Vietnam in a time of chaos. He finally made it to america with his family and eventually graduated from the university of maryland with a degree in electrical engineering. On 9 11, he was working as a systems administrator at the Navy Command Center right here in the pentagon. He left behind a beloved wife too. And their fouryear o fouryearold son. She was devastated by her husbands death but she resolve to be strong to support their son. And so, 22 years later, they are incredibly close. And their tie has only grown stronger through the loss they endured. They talk every day, and she is so proud of the young man that he has become. He still tries to make his dad proud and to honor his legacy in ways big and small. That can mean echoing the love of learning or taking up the guitar or simply staying engaged with his community and finding ways to help others just as his dad did. So in september 2021, on the 20th anniversary of 9 11, she visited this memorial to place flowers on the bench with her husbands name on it. And she felt a wave of sadness looking at the benches honoring other victims that were bare. So she called up a friend and they came back here together, and they laid a rose on each of the 184 benches around us. And so now, thanks to her simple act of kindness, every year on this day, the department of defense upholds that tradition. Laying a rose on every bench to honor the memory of every soul taken from us here on 9 11. Ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to have them here with us today. I want to thank them and all of the families of the fallen. September 11 changed you forever. But you changed us forever. In so many ways, you turned grief into grip and sorrow into strength. And you helped us to see beyond ourselves and give back to our fellow americans and to deepen our democracy and to work toward a stronger, safer future. So it is our duty to carry out the missions that your loved ones chose. It is our duty to live up to the goodness that they embody. And, it is our duty to defend the democracy that they loved so much. So we will always seek to meet that challenge. We will always strive to live up to their example in their memory. We will always work to keep america safe. And we will always, always remember. May god bless you all and may god continue to bless the United States of america. Thank you very much. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the theme of god bless america. God bless america, land that i love stand beside her and guide her through the night with the light from above from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white with foam god bless america, my Home Sweet Home god bless america, my Home Sweet Home god bless america, land that i love stand beside her and guide her through the night with the light from above from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white with foam god bless america, my Home Sweet Home god bless america, my Home Sweet Home we now receive the benediction. God, we thank you for this time we could pause to remember the names, the lives of the americans lost. We thank you to the comfort you have given to friends and family who have lost loved ones on that fateful day and how you continue to give peace to those that seek it. I think you for those that rushed into help other americans in need. As we have remembered this day, i pray that we feel will be the source of life, source of hope for many so that we can live our lives in such a way to reflect the goodness in our world. Help us to be bringers of hope. Help us to exemplify the dedication, the courage and honor and even the periods of peace and moments of terror, may our commitment to love and compassion be felt by others around us. Finally, lord, i pray that as we leave this solemn place of remembrance, you will continue to bless us as bearers of goodwill, may we remember those that serve others. We honor the memory of those that have gone before us and those that gave their very lives. Bless each person assembled here and for those who could not make it. May god bless the United States of america. For god and country, amen. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes todays ceremony. Thank you for joining us this morning. The pentagon memorial, the pentagon Memorial Chapel and the navy reflection room are open until 12 00 p. M. Our coverage of the 22nd anniversary of the 9 11 terrorist attacks continues. Of next, a 9 11 remembrance ceremony to honor the 40 passengers and crew members of united Airlines Flight 93 who were killed when their plane crashed in jigsaw, pennsylvania. We joined this in progress