Staff editorial

Just as Dec. 7, 1944 is a “day that will live in infamy,” so has Sept. 11, 2001 become a date this nation has refused to forget.

The day our nation – and our national psyche – was attacked from abroad.

The day, many have said, has become a turning point for our nation.

The terrorist attacks that day, designed to tear us apart, has brought us closer together.

For an American President, it pushed a fledgling administration into a war. That same war, three years later, is still being fought.

Have we forgotten that galvanizing purpose?

Have we forgotten our fallen brothers and sisters who were killed in the attacks in Washington, D.C., New York City and Pennsylvania countryside?

Have we forgotten our soldiers, sailors and airmen who have given their lives in the defense of freedom?

Have we forgotten Alabama’s native sons who have paid the ultimate price so that terrorism will not rob us of our nation?

Americans such as John Kerry would like us to.

While we must move forward, accepting our losses and continuing to build our nation, we must also pause and remember those men and women – whatever their uniform may have been – who have been ripped from us by the conflict.

We must remember our purpose lest we forget those who have sacrificed.

Three years later, we will win this war. We will overcome fear. We will remain the United States of America.

They will not win if we only remember.