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 To:         All DOC Employees
From:       Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke
Subject:    Commemorating September 11

  
Fellow Commerce Employees:

 Eight years ago this morning, America endured one of its darkest
hours. The deadly terrorist attacks that saw planes crash into the
World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the fields of Pennsylvania
changed our country forever.  On that day, the Commerce Department
lost two of its own, and many of us grieved for the loss of friends,
family and colleagues.

 But in the ashes of that terrible day, we also witnessed the triumph
of the American spirit.  We saw firefighters and police officers
rushing into burning buildings with complete disregard for their own
safety, citizens turning out in droves to give blood and thousands of
volunteer rescuers who came from miles away to sift through the
burning rubble in the search for survivors. And on United Flight 93,
we saw a group of brave Americans band together to mount a heroic
assault against the plane’s hijackers.  The heroic actions we saw on
that day were a collective statement to the world, a statement about
the greatness of this country and its people.

 This morning, I ask you to join me in a moment of silence at 9:37 a.m.
to honor the friends, colleagues and loved ones we lost.

 I would also ask that you remember their sacrifice with action.  To
commemorate the selfless public service we witnessed from everyday
Americans on 9/11 and from our men and women in uniform in the years
since, I hope that we will all redouble our efforts to volunteer and
to serve our communities and our nation in any way we can.

 Thank you and God bless America.