Twenty-five years ago today, September 11, 2001, our nation changed forever.

Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives that morning in New York City, at the Pentagon and aboard Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. They were people going to work, boarding airplanes, beginning another ordinary Tuesday morning, never knowing how profoundly that day would become part of American history.

We remember them.

We remember the firefighters, police officers, emergency medical personnel and countless others who ran toward danger while others were trying to escape it.

We remember the passengers and crew of Flight 93, who learned what was happening elsewhere and acted with extraordinary courage.

And we remember the service that followed.

In the years after September 11, an entire generation of Americans answered the call to serve. Members of our Armed Forces deployed around the world, often repeatedly. Their families served alongside them through long separations, uncertainty and sacrifice. For some, that service continues today.

Twenty-five years later, September 11 remains a day to remember those we lost, those who ran toward danger to help others, and those whose lives of service were shaped by what happened that morning.

At AFA Palm Springs Chapter 134, among our members are veterans, military families and people whose lives have been closely connected to the defense of this country. Today is not about politics or policy. It is about remembrance.

We remember September 11, 2001.

We remember the lives lost.

We remember the courage.

We remember the service that followed.

Thank You!