Governor DeSantis Delivers Address at Palm Harbor 9/11 Memorial Ceremony

PALM HARBOR, Fla.—Today, Governor Ron DeSantis spoke at the Palm Harbor 9/11 Memorial Ceremony to honor the memories of those lost in the attacks on September 11th, 2001.

A transcript of Governor Ron DeSantis’ remarks is below:

“Thank you so much. Please be seated. Thank you. Thank you. Well, it’s great to be back. We’ve been able to do this for a number of years. Of course, I grew up a stone’s throw away, over in Dunedin, and I think that what you guys have done here at Curlew Hills has been very meaningful. And you get great community involvement, and I’m really heartened to see that’s continued after all these years. Last year, I was not at this one. Last year, I went to the memorial in Southern Manhattan at Ground Zero, and we had done that after having become friends with a lot of 9/11 families. We heard a lot of stories about not only that day, but different types of challenges that have happened since then. And my wife and I were able to go to the different sites with the family members, and they would tell you about the loved ones that they lost that day.

It was always something that was very impactful for me, starting on the day, way back in 2001. To meet so many people whose lives were turned upside down that day has been very touching. And I think it strengthens the resolve to ensure that we’re doing everything we can to never forget—to honor the people that not only lost their lives that day, but those in the years since. That day and that attack represented the worst that humanity has to offer. But the response to that attack—whether it was the office workers in the World Trade Center, who were scurrying their coworkers out of the building to safety—whether it was members of the FDNY, the Port Authority, or the NYPD who ran into the burning towers, knowing the risks that entailed to save others’ lives, and in the process, many of them gave their own lives—whether it’s the passengers on United Flight 93, who knew what was happening, who knew that if they were to stop it that would mean that they were not going to survive that flight, but yet realized that if they let the flight continue, you could have hundreds, maybe thousands more people killed, yet they were not going to let that happen on their watch—what they all did that day across the board represented the best of what humanity and America has to offer. And we’ll never forget the sacrifices that those folks made; many of them just regular people doing a regular honest day’s work or who happened to be on a plane. And yet they stood up and they were heroes. And for that, we’ll forever be grateful.

It’s also worth remembering 9/11 changed this country in ways that few events have. I can tell you in my own personal experience I would not have ended up joining the United States military had it not been for 9/11, and I would not likely have been on a deployment to Iraq had it not been for 9/11. Even though I didn’t personally know anybody who had died in the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, or in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, it was something that inspired me to say, ‘America’s going to fight back.’ And we had so many people of my generation who joined the military. And yes, you have the Afghanistan conflict—which we all know went on for a long time, and the ending of that conflict was not reflective of the honor that those folks who risked their lives deserved. We also had a lengthy conflict in Iraq. We never had a draft after that

Our people raised their hand to serve. And that meant those folks not only deployed once but, like me, they deployed three times, four times, five times—over a five- or ten-year period. They missed Christmas, they missed Easter, they missed birthdays. They missed all the holidays with their families. They shouldered an immense burden for this country. And so, on behalf of the post 9/11 generation of veterans, I just want to say—as Governor—thank you for your service. We appreciate what you did. It was a difficult time for this country. Not every political decision that was made was the appropriate one. But any duty you were asked to do, you did it. And you discharged it with honor and with integrity.

And finally, I just want to say—we say ‘never forget.’ And part of the reason why you have events like the one here today—why they’re at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan, why they’re at the Pentagon, and why they’re in Shanksville, Pennsylvania—is to ensure that people remember what happened that day, honor those who were killed, and celebrate those who rose to the occasion. And I think that’s totally appropriate, but it also occurs to me that most of the people in our country who are under the age of 30 were either not born yet or probably were too young to have a very firm memory of what 9/11 entailed. And so, by saying ‘never forget,’ it means doing things every year on 9/11 is necessary, but it’s not sufficient. And so, I’m proud to have worked with the Florida legislature to develop for our schools a 9/11 curriculum, so that every year, we will have instruction on the causes of 9/11, the destruction of 9/11, and the heroic response that so many made to 9/11

This curriculum wasn’t just something that was devised in some ivory tower. This was something that was devised in coordination with 9/11 families, with people who were veterans of the World Trade Center response, and veterans of the Pentagon. And I think this is something that’s very, very meaningful. So as the father of young kids—seven, six, and four—my kids may be a little too young to fully understand at this point, but I’m confident that growing up in the state of Florida they are going to be taught what this event means to our country. It’s a wake-up call to know that that evil is out there. But it also serves—or should serve—as inspiration to know the way those folks responded when everything was on the line. They rose to the occasion. They sacrificed themselves and they saved many, many lives in the process. We worked hard on that curriculum. And today is going to be—across Florida—the debut of that curriculum. That’s really important. And I know everybody here is appreciative that that’s being done in the state of Florida. Most states are not doing anything of this nature, but we are not going to forget.

Outside of the Tri-State area, we are the number one place where 9/11 veterans have moved to in the years since 9/11. In this area, you have people that retired from the Port Authority and the FDNY and the NYPD. So Florida has a special obligation as being the desired home of so many people who were there that day to make sure we’re doing right by their sacrifice, and to make sure that future generations truly never forget. Thank you. God bless you. God bless the memory of those lost. God bless the people who sacrificed, and God bless these United States of America.”

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