Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge reflects on 9/11, recalls how America 'pulled together'

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Tom Ridge, a former governor of Pennsylvania and the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), recalled how America "pulled together" in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, as the U.S. will commemorate 20 years since the attacks on Saturday.

Ridge was governor of Pennsylvania on 9/11 and visited the United Flight 93 crash site just hours after it crashed near Shanksville. He became the first Homeland Security secretary in 2003, serving until February 2005.

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In a video address, he recalled his visit to the Flight 93 site on 9/11, saying that "no amount of time can ever fade my memories of that day." 

 "What I remember most about 9/11 is stepping off the helicopter at Shanksville, Pennsylvania – and being met by the brutal sound of silence," he said. "Emergency personnel searched the fields. Ambulances were at the ready. Rescue workers wanted someone to save."  

March 12, 2002: Then-Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge discusses a color-coded terror alert system in Washington. (AP Photo)

"But, you see, the passengers and crew of Flight 93 were 40 heroes strong. They were, in fact, the first, first responders on the scene," he said. "They had already run toward the danger – they had already taken up the battle. And they were already in the arms of God." 

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The former DHS secretary said that "despite the weight of pain and anguish on our shoulders, we pulled together." 

"Do you remember? Some of you brought foil-covered plates of food to firefighters. Others held candlelight vigils in cities, large and small. Stores ran out of flags. Schools and communities raised money for grieving families. On the steps of the Capitol, members of Congress sang ‘God Bless America,’" he said.

"At our country’s worst moment, we survived on a diet of kindness, generosity and compassion," he added. "You may not find those words in any national security plan. But I can assure you – those concepts are just as critical to our national resilience as any component of national defense."

Ridge went on to say that, despite fractures in the country at the moment, a sense of shared values and responsibility has been "the hallmark of the American story writ large for the last 20 years, for the last 245 years."

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He noted the role that essential workers and others have played in the last year and a half to keep the economy moving and Americans safe even amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are a nation of 333-plus million people – of many colors and cultures, of many religions and political beliefs. But do you remember? We’re also a nation of Rosie the Riveters. Of Live Aid concerts and charity telethons … community bake sales and clothing drives. We’re the hearts and billfolds that open daily for the vulnerable among us – our elderly neighbors, the hungry, the homeless, victims of hurricanes and earthquakes," he said.

"That’s who we are. That’s in America’s DNA."