Originally posted on Monday, September 17, 2001
Message from our congressman (Ray LaHood)

[September 11, 2021]   Message from U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, 18th District, Illinois, on Sept. 14, 2001:

To the people of Lincoln and Logan County:

"The Union, in any event, won’t be dissolved. We don’t want to dissolve it, and if you attempt it, we won’t let you." — Abraham Lincoln

Just as Abraham Lincoln uttered the words above regarding the greatest threat to our country’s unity, the American people will not let the terrorist events of Sept. 11, 2001, dissolve our Union. Nor will these depraved acts of inhumanity alter our country’s resolve to spread the idea of free and democratic societies around the globe.

Never before in the 225-year history of this great nation have our citizens suffered an attack on our soil with the magnitude we experienced on Sept. 11, 2001. Never before in our history have we witnessed such a brutal assault on innocent civilians as was carried out by the terrorist pilots who used commercial airlines as missiles. Never before have the American people felt the helplessness experienced in the minutes during which this terror from the sky rained down.

America is strong. Our enemies, whether they are known or faceless, are wrong about the people that make up the melting pot of the United States. The greatness of the United States is not seen in our successes, but in our determination in the face of adversity. We have survived a revolution, a civil war, two world wars, race riots, presidential assassinations and many other hardships. We will survive and gain strength from this tragedy.

We will not be intimidated by the attempts to disrupt our governmental, economic or societal activities. We will not engage in, or promote, the dastardly conduct that was enacted upon our citizens.

As a member of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, I feel assured we will find answers and solutions. We will find those who committed this heinous crime against life, and we will administer swift and appropriate justice. We will thoroughly question and examine our intelligence procedures that allowed four airliners to be hijacked almost simultaneously within our borders without forewarning. We will scrutinize our transportation systems that allowed these terrorists to evade all security measures, and we will provide President Bush with the means to find these answers and fully protect the American people against future terrorism.

I join all citizens in expressing our grief and condolences to the victims and the families of victims of this attack. I urge all our friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens of central Illinois to donate blood and fly the United States flag to show unity for this country.

Continue your prayers for the victims, their families and the public service officials in their rescue and recovery efforts. Over the days and weeks to come, I am sure we will hear many stories of tragedy, as well as heroism, that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. I urge everyone to remember these stories and grow stronger in their memory.

God bless America.

Congressman Ray LaHood
100 N.E. Monroe
Peoria, IL 61602

[LDN - Top Stories (lincolndailynews.com)]