Dear My Fellow Virginians,
Today we mourn the loss and honor the lives of our fellow Americans taken from us twelve years ago today. At the Pentagon as well as in New York, Pennsylvania and across the country, families and loved ones of those lost continue to grieve over senseless acts of Islamic terrorism that shook our nation.
At the same time, we celebrate the courage of our firefighters, police officers and individual citizens whose heroism in the face of unbelievable adversity that tragic day united us all. It is that spirit of purpose and service, demonstrated in our darkest hour, which reveals the compassion we have for one another.
On this most somber of anniversaries, we also express our deepest gratitude to the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms. We continue to pray for the safe return of those serving overseas, and we express our sympathy and thanks to the families of our brave servicemen and servicewomen who gave the last full measure of devotion in defense of liberty.
There are still evil extremists who continue to wish us harm, as we were reminded last year on this day when U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three courageous Americans were murdered in Benghazi, Libya while serving abroad. We must remain vigilant and determined so that peace and prosperity for Americans at home and abroad is secured for Virginians now and in the future.
For those we lost, and those they left behind, we will never forget.
Sincerely,
Ken Cuccinelli
