MORRIS COUNTY — Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) participated in the Pentagon’s September 11th Observance and released the following statement on the 18th anniversary of the 2001 attacks:
“For eighteen years, we’ve celebrated and mourned the members of our community we lost in 2001, and the bravery of the first responders who ran towards the burning buildings in Lower Manhattan, the Pentagon, and Shanksville — into immeasurable and unknown danger.
“I spoke with a firefighter yesterday in my community who went to the pile at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the attacks. It does not get any easier for the survivors and families, but with our passage of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund this summer, we can give them some peace of mind that they will receive the support they need.
“At today’s memorial at the Pentagon, I was surrounded by survivors, family members, and active duty personnel. It was a reminder of the sacrifice made by brave men and women, and I strongly felt the memory of those lost from Flight 77 and the Pentagon.
“There is now an entire generation of Americans born after September 11th. We owe them principled leadership, both at home and abroad. We must ensure that the lesson of September 11th is that we double down on our values in the face of attacks on our country, not run away from them.”
Representative Mikie Sherrill is a U.S. Navy veteran who served in Norfolk at the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Headquarters during the September 11, 2001, attacks.
