Remembering 9/11: A September 11 Message from Ed Martin

Following is a September 11th message from Ed Martin, candidate for Attorney General:

Today, on this anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we remember all those who lost their lives that day. September 11, 2001, left a hole in the American spirit, and it left a hole in the lives of so many Americans. For me, I lost a friend from college, a great guy named John Farrell. John was a year ahead of me in college and was a vigorous man. I can still see him in my mind's eye playing intramural basketball or football.

It has been 11 years since madmen consumed with evil destroyed the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon. In the days that followed, as I absorbed the loss of John, the loss to America, I was gripped with the belief that another attack was coming – it had to be coming. For months it seemed I had the sense of inevitability of another horrific attack.

Now, 11 years on, the relative peace we enjoy in America can be traced to the tens of thousands of men and women in law enforcement, the military – even alert citizens have been working tirelessly to disrupt and destroy terror networks all over the world. Iraq has fallen. The Taliban has been sent back into the remote crevices of Afghanistan. Osama Bin Laden is a corpse somewhere in the ocean.

There is still much to be done. While we have not suffered an attack on the scale of 9/11, many conditions are still ripe for such a terrible event. The same pathways followed by drug cartels across our border can be followed by terrorists. There is plenty to criticize.

Still, after 11 years, I cannot help but be grateful to God Almighty who has blessed our nation with indefatigable champions who have dedicated their lives – often at the cost of their lives – to lock arms and create a shield around our nation, our communities and ultimately our families. I am grateful to all of you who have fought and shed blood. They have closed with the enemy and exacted a heavy price for their evil.

Each night I fall asleep under their watchful eye, my children rest peacefully thanks to them. My gratitude is greater than what I can express adequately. I pledge to support you all as best I can. I hope you will remember all those who gave their lives. May God bless all those people who gave their lives, especially their families, and may God bless America.

All the best,

Ed Martin