Right now the most widespread impact has been Power Outages. Nearly 6 Million People are without power as we speak. Of the the two dozen storm related deaths, just one that we know of so far occurred in florida. As all of this is going on of course as youve been watching the country is marking 16 years since 9 11. The worst terror attack on u. S. Soil. The president will take part in a moment of silence shortly. Well have that for you when it happens. And in the meantime, we want to get the latest on Hurricane Irma. We do have a team of reporters spread out across the state of florida and we start with nbc meteorologist bill karins. Youve been tracking the path. These pictures coming out of jacksonville. I was expecting to have a nice little easy, you know, forecast and the damage part was supposed to be just about over with. Now im looking at the tide gauges prediction in savannah, georgia, which is going to be two feet higher than last year in matthew, which was the record. There were apartment complexes and homes with water last year. Now in georgia this afternoon at high tide, youre going to have like a record flood and have pictures like what were getting out of that area. This live picture is the st. Johns river. This is the river thats causing all the problems. Its like a trifecta right now of just conditions that are causing this river to surge. At the coast the storm surge is about 5 1 2 feet. This river has to flow out into the ocean where that storm surge is coming so that storm surge is backing up the river and not allowing it to flow out which is why we got that higher. This is the map that shows you the river gaugings. High tide is not until 12 36 this afternoon. Were expecting the river to rise another 1 to 2 feet. Bill, thank you. We will have continuing coverage of irma. But also of course as weve been saying today marks 16 years since 9 11. We are hearing the reading of the names of some of the victims and were just seconds away from the moment the second tower was struck. The south tower by united 175. Lets listen in to the ceremony going on in lower manhattan. My brother jeffrey fox. People tell me youre in a better place. Ive always tried real hard to believe that. But im not so sure anymore. Im thinking that here with your family is the best place. Like last year when your son gregory graduated college, you should have been here in the best place. Watching him get his diploma. And then a month later when your daughter amanda got married, you should have been here in the best place. Walking her down the aisle. And then just section months after that, when your other daughter jessica got married, you should have been here in the best place walking her down the aisle. Are you in a better place, jeff . I really hope so. But, again, im just not so sure anymore. I guess ill know in 20 or 30 years. So save me a good seat, little brother. We love you. We miss you every day. Richard edward bosco. And my father ronald carl fasio. Dad, your youngest granddaughters here today, rece. Youre proudably named after your dad. He had a heart condition. And he loved his reeses peanut buttercups and that never stopped him. If he were here today, he would tell you to hold the door for others every chance that you get, love, strength and peace to everyone near and far, 143. [ bell ringing ] clause moto. Carol marie. The family members are continuing after that moment of silence to read the names. As you heard, many of them giving their own remembrances. There are, in all, six moments of silence that will be served today down at 9 11. At the memorial there. You saw the beautiful memorial. The footprints of where those buildings stood. At 9 oovt9 37, the moment of s. There will be remarks near the pentagon memorial with President Trump as well as chief dunnford and secretary mattis. Of course we will be bringing all of this to you throughout the day. As we continue our coverage of Hurricane Irma, which continues to pose a threat in the jacksonville area. Its so unpredictable had the same reaction when we checked what the date was today. Weve been so immersed in this storm coverage. It says 9 11 and you instantly just kind of have a moment of, you know, brings you back. It does, for everyone. We all remember where we were and for those folks who are reading the names, it is a memory every single day. Yeah, all the families friends and everyone else. Youre in our thoughts this morning. Were still in our coverage of this storm because we still have people that are suffering and we still have a lot more damage thats being done. Were just trying to stay out ahead of that and let people know that evacuated certain areas what theyre looking at and one of the developing stories this morning has been the water from the st. Johns river. Because of the storm surge, you know, and here yesterday we were saying naples and ft. Myers and sarasota would have the worst damage from the storm surge. It looks like the keys and jacksonville is going to have the most significant damage from storm surge and that storm surge is happening now in the Jacksonville Florida area. And were coming off of high tide, off of low tide, and now were heading towards high tide at noon today. Even with the wind shifting and blowing the river which runs from south to north and the winds are going to run south to north, we are expecting this river to rise 1 to it feet more. Weve already seen water over the banks by about 1 to 2 feet. That waters continuing to get higher even through areas of downtown jacksonville, right along the riverfront there. Because you can see where the bigger buildings are there. And theres about two feet of water on that street. Thats kind of where we are in the jacksonville area. For anyone else thats just joining us, i know a lot of people wondering whats going on. Right, theres other stuff with the storm too. We can just update everyone quickly. Just joining us this morning. This Tropical Storm, we have a little more wind damage, a little more Power Outages to go. Most likely across i 10 as you head into southern georgia. Then we rain the store out as it goes through areas of alabama. We could get minor flooding problems in areas like georgia. Florida is clearing out nicely. The storm is racing to the north. The cleanup is beginning. Weve heard stories of the convoys of power trucks heading from the georgia area and from the west on i10 that are heading down into florida. I saw one report of already 100,000 people that had lost power have already gotten it back. As far as that jacksonville situation, i put this graphic together showing you the st. Johns river and how it snakes to the north. By the way, each of these gauges are river gauges that are either in major or record flooding. Its not just the st. Johns river. Thats the man one through the downtown area of jacksonville. As far as the radar goes, i just saw the tidal predictions. I was talking with willie about this for savannah. Last year when Hurricane Matthew went through, savannah hit 12 feet water height down towards the bay. Theyre now expecting 14 feet this afternoon. I just did a quick google image search. I wanted to remind myself. It calls up image also of apartment complexes and houses with water in them. Im looking at those images. Now i know its going to be two feet higher than that. So we still have more of this storm and more of the misery its going to bring. I know youll be tracking it for us, bill karins. I want to go to joe friar now who is in tampa. The mayer who made all these preparations and said they were prepared to get punched in the face and they were relieved to only get a glancing blow. Even though they may have dodgeled tdodged the worst, there is still some damage there. Overall, how is the city looking in the daylight . Right now the rain has let up a little which is nice. Some cars are starting to venture out. Officials arent really fond of that right now. Theyve only had a few hours to go out and start assessing the damage. Theyre seeing a number of trees down. Street signs blown into the road and other debris. Plus with power out throughout the area, a number of traffic lights are out which can create a dangerous situation. Theyre still responding to the backlog of 9 11 calls from overnight. Theyre still urging people to be cautious because theres still a Flooding Risk today. First, they expect to see some more rain but also marriageirma to send wind to the bay here. That could create a storm surge. This is an area that is prone to flooding. Still, its not the surge they were fearing about 24 hours ago. You may recall the fear was that this hurricane was going to move up the coast and push a lot of water from the bay into land here, potentially catastrophic situation for a place that has not seen a major hurricane in nearly a century. The good news is theyve been able to avoid that. But they still want people to be cautious today. Flooding cass happen pretty easily. Even during an afternoon thunderstorm here in florida. Theyre going to see more rain. There is going to be a little bit of surge especially with the tide rising a little bit later today. A word to the wise, thank you for that. Meantime, in miami beach, where the cars have been banned from the city until tomorrow at noon. Whats the concern there . Chris, i just spoke to the miami beach Fire Department. Theyre out here patrolling the streets. They tell me a curfew is still in place. I asked them, is it milder than what you thought when youre surveilling all this damage. They said, listen, the beach got hit pretty hard. Their concern is the people emerging from their homes. We saw two people carrying surf boards headed over to the beach. That is what is of most concern now. In the minds of those firefighters. Would, by the way, had been working for two days now. Theyre just going to be relieved from their shift. A new team is going to come in. We really have to commend all those police officers. The people from the Fire Department who have been out and about, making sure that people are safe here on the beach. Especially after what we went through yesterday. We were working, Walking Around these street, the southern most part of miami beach. We walked along ocean drive. Those winds were blowing pretty hard. As joe friar was mentioning, the storm surge wasnt as bad on the beach as they expected. They didnt get those 6 to 12 feet of storm surge. But there are parts of ocean drive and were going to try to move for you in the next hour here for our ms viewers. There are parts of the road along ocean drive that just look like a beach because of all that sand that moved into the road with those wind gusts. We also want to start moving along the beach as well to check out that flooding. The miami beach city commissioner told me the flooding was also not as severe as they originally anticipated. As these Fire Department officers told me a little while ago, it is the downed power lines. Youre seeing families sort of biking around this area now. Not what they want to be looking at. Theres still a curfew in place in miami beach. The next couple of hours are really going to be critical in making sure that everyone is accounted for, that everyone is safe, and getting those downed power lines and downed trees out of the way so this city can resume some sort of normalcy. Chris. Thank you very much, mariana. Katie beck is live in orlando where people there are also under a curfew. Always worth reminding people that deaths occur frequently after the hurricane has left. Storm surge, flooding, what are you seeing in orlando and ways the concern there . Yes, thats right, not just the wind and rain at this point, actually the sun is out, but there is a tornado threat. That Central Florida has been facing for the last 24 hours. Most of Central Florida yesterday was under a tornado watch. Sometimes tornado warnings were coming in and out. So you do have to be careful. Those heavy gusts of winds continue to come through. I just want to show you a little of the damage were starting to scout out in the orlando area now that we do have some sunshine and daylight. Were actually in the parking lot of a bank. You can see here this is the front of the bank. The windows have been completely smashed in. You can see the inside of a business there. Chairs and computers. So this is just part of that. Im going to show you a little bit more. Were in an area of Orlando International drive area around all the theme parks where tourists would normally be. That is a flooded parking lot. Two feet of standing water. Take a look over here. These are downed tree limbs everywhere. A huge number of people in orlando. 600,000 people are currently without power here. And that is because of all these tree branches that are down and debris. So this is the parking lot of a shopping center. As you can see, the whole thing is sort of torn up at this point. Awning, tree limbs down. There is a curfew here in orlando until 6 00 p. M. We havent seen many people venturing out. Obviously a lot of folk, families, tourist, are here for the theme parks. The theme parks are completely shut down. It is sort of an eerie thing to be in orlando, florida, and have all of the theme parks look like ghost lands. Nobodys in them at all. Yet all of the hotels are packed with people. Evacuees and tourists who have been hunkered down for the past several days. Getting another look here at the tree damage. This is just sort of, you know, things that can be obviously cleaned up but its going to take some time to get this looking back to normal. Chris. Katie beck in orlando, thank you. Up next, more coverage on the impact of irma. It has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm. That happened just about an hour ago. Well be talking to florida officials as the recovery effort begins. But before we go, youve got to look at this. Florida has been dealing with a fair amount of beached animals this morning. Our own Kerry Sanders pitched in, helping a beached dolphin return to sea. Kerry will join us later with more on this remarkable rescue. 19 past 9 00 here on east coast. Irma has just passed gainesville, florida. Nbcs Morgan Bradford is leaving gainesville now, shes heading up to jacksonville where the storm surge is causing a lot of trouble. Morgue joan joins me on the pho. Where are you, what have you been seeing . Were just leaving gainesville now. Its much closer than meteorologists frankly expected. When we were talking to you earlier this morning, it was about 55 miles to west of us. Right now that eye has since dissolved. When we were on east side, those winds were moving about 75 to 85 miles per hour. We saw, one, a lot of that minor flooding. Not only the streets. The wind has knocked down power lines and knocked down trees. Because of those downed power line, we saw the second effect, which is there are 50,000 people in this county now without power. Thats a pretty significant jump. We saw about 2,000 people around midnight who lost power. A significant jump this morning. And third and finally, what we saw were these pretty hectic Hurricane Force winds. Those wind, we could feel our car shifting. We actually skid on the side of the road in a pretty intense moment as we were driving into that storm. We heard the wind batter the windows all night. Those are what people were especially feeling when they were in shelters. We saw 21 shelters opened across the county. 12 in the city of gainesville. Remember, this is home of the university of florida. So 160,000 residents in gainesville when school is in session. Southern school, we generally start early so a lot of students are on campus. Those shelters opened the doors to those students parents. Those shelters, that shelter was already at capacity at the university and others were filling up quickly. Now were headed to jacksonville. Thats where we understand some flooding it was not only bad here in gainesville but it was worse in jacksonville. Weve been following this storm since it hit puerto rico and i followed it up the coast so were going to look and compare and come back to you, chris. Are you on a highway yet . Are you seeing any cars . Is it like a ghost town where you are . Sbl its interesting. Its been a ghost town for more of the of the morning. Most of the cars we saw were emergency vehicles. There were a few brave soul whols tried to get on the roads. When those winds get up to 45 miles per hour, thats when Emergency Responders say we cant get to those roads to get to you so they encourage people to stay off the road. Because if something happened, they cant reach them when the winds are this bad. If they havent already gone to a shelter, people are being asked to shelter in place and to stay still because especially its not just the wind and its not just the flooding but its now also all this debris. Morgan, safe travels to you and your crew. Thank you so much for your reporting all throughout this. As florida rides out the storm, weve got people up north in georgia hunkering down. Msnbcs garrett is live in albany, georgia, which is expecting i guess the worst of it around 5 00 this afternoon. Yes, thats what theyre saying. Were already starting to get some pretty sporting wind gusts here in albany, georgia. Were about 80 miles north of the Florida Border here. It started raining here about 10 00 last night. Its not going to stop for a good long while. The good news is downtown albany is already mostly a ghost town. They closed businesses here. The city ordered businesses to close at 5 00 yesterday. Schools are closed. Were not seeing very many people, that present car accepted, going through downtown except for emergency vehicles. As the winds picked up, we started to see some tree limbs down. So far again its just a wind event. If you see the bridge behind me, this is the flint river. It goes right through downtown. In big storm also in the past, it has flooded. But most of the area along the riverbanks are parkland so were going to keep an eye on that. The big concern here will be high winds and Power Outages. But, again, things really just starting for the experience of Tropical Storm irma as it gets here. Into southern georgia. P today, chris. As we said, its still eight hours away from what theyre expecting as the worst of it. You take care out there, garrett. He mentioned those outages. There are more than 600,000 homes and businesses just in the tampa bay area without power this morning after irma slammed that region overnight. Nbcs jacob rascon is in tampa st. Pete. Where are you . What youre seeing is downed trees . Yes, st. Petersburg, the tampa bay area, all part of the same area. These are among the homes that dont have power. They lost power yesterday afternoon. In fact, karen who lives here, told me when she went to bed, she thought that irma was going to hit as a category 3. Remember, that was the worst Case Scenario that was still possible. Thats what they expected when they went to bed. She said she went to bed with pill lows over her head. She was terrified. She didnt even hear the tree topple. We were hear watching her. She was of course just stunned and thankful that it didnt fall the other way on to her house. So theres no damage, no leaks in her house she can see. Public works because its blocking there will come out and chop it up. Over here, you see another family who is here cleaning up. Theres a lot of debris like that in the road. These people, among other, who boarded up their windows. This is really the worst of the damage that weve seen. We drove around for an hour or two this morning. And this is the biggest tree we saw in the road. There are other trees that went on to power lines. Theres some signs. We talked to others in tampa, the actual city of tampa. The police are there patrolling. Small tree, signs, just debris in the street. Remember what the worst Case Scenario was. The 8 feet of storm surge that would have flooded thousands of homes that line the coast and are built on islands there in the tampa bay area. None of that any longer expected to happen. So despite all of the cleanup that will have to happen of course here, a lot of people im sure waking up pretty thankful that it wasnt much worse, including not the least of which is karen. Ill say, thank you so much, jacob. Joining me on the phone is st. Petersburg police chief anthony holloway. Chief, its good to talk to you. We are looking at the pictures of what happened in your town. Obviously, there were some concerns about that devastating floods that didnt happen. But what are your immediate concerns . What are your immediate jobs this morning . Well, good morning. The job right now is to handle the power outage we have in our cities. We have a lot of people trying to get back on the road and causing some traffic issues. We have about 90 people now without power. Is your advice to people just stay home right now . Were actually doing a press conference telling people to stay at hopme, stay in place. Just get some of the debris clear. We have our major roads cleared. Just some of the side roads. People want to come out and look at their businesses to see if everythings okay. What are you seeing in term also of the worst of the damage . We heard from jacob rascon. They have seen tree limbs down. For most part are most homes intact . What were seeing right now is a lot of trees down. We havent seen any issues with any homes yet. Weve just done our first preliminary search. Were going back now and starting our secondary. And when you get through the day now, when will people be able to have a sense of when the power might be back, when the roads might be clear . How quickly do you see this moving, chief . Well, our roads will be cleared hopefully by the end of the day. The mayor has a team. We call our push team. Were out there working on it now. Again, all the major roads are cleared. Now we start work on our side streets. We have duke energy whos our Power Company here working with us. And we should hopefully have everything up and running. Within the next 24 hours. St. Petersburg police chief anthony holloway, good luck to you and your teams. I know you still have a lot of work ahead of you. Were all quite relieved for you it wasnt worse than it already is. Thank you so much for take the time to talk to us, chief. Thank you very much. Weve got more than 800,000 homes and businesses without power this morning. Close to 80 of customers in miamidade county. Cars are not allowed to enter the miami beach area at least until tomorrow at noon. And throughout this time. Msnbc weather contributor sam champion has been in the miami area, in miami beach, monitoring the storm. I know that you and i talked a lot over the course of the last couple of days. Whats it looking like this morning for you, sam . Hey, chris, good morning. Its nice to hear your voice by the way on this, the day after. Let me just set up where we are. Youll kind of understand the damage that were showing you. Thats a clearer shot to the beach right there. Thats through a beach club here in south beach thats called nicky beach. This is the kind of damage you got when it was unprotected wind coming straight across. You got some small tree limb damage here. Youve got large tree damage there. A lot of palm fronds. You see this kind of everywhere. But in this area, this is kind of a new neighborhood where a lot of new construction is. You see all these tall buildings. You have some new plantings here. All of those came out. So trees that werent able to or didnt have a good foothold in the ground yet, most of those were out. We looked at all the glass in these buildings and most of these new south beach buildings are glass. It seems that people want an unon strukted view to everything they can see here on the beach. Windows are intact here. So the general idea here is we absorbed about a cat 1 storm. Because as the hurricane made landfall, it was all the way on the other side of the state. But the issue with the trees down and the Power Outages here. As youve mentioned, been reporting, web have about, what, 6 Million People without power in the state of florida. The issue was so much power outage, we were under those Tropical Storm force winds with hurricane gusts for probably im just going to step over, get my crew out of the road. We were in those winds for, you know, almost ten hours. So it just kept shredding and blowing and shredding and blowing. Eventually the power gave way to most people. This is my neighborhood. I talked with some of my neighbors today. Most of these buildings around the area have no power, no water or a combination. Some of them say they have power. Most of those are from generator. But most of the waters turned off in this area. And as far as the power goes, everyones asking the question but we dont have any answers for them. We got a statement from fpl saying they have the larger thats the Power Company that control also a lot of south florida. Most of the south florida customers are at pl. There are other Power Companies in the state. They say theyve put together the largest army of power restorers in american history. Theyve got about 30,000 people ready to go to work. And todays the day where it all starts. But we really dont know when well get a good idea of getting power back in the area. Now, all of that is to the point of why police are blocking every one of the causeways to get into the beach. Theyre telling people, you cant come in here at least until tomorrow. Even residents. If you work here, if you have a business here, theyre letting you in. If you have a Business Card or can prove you work here. Theyre letting workers in to get things back and on track here. Even if youre a resident, you can really come in here. They still have some live power lines down they believe. I see some, you know, First Responders about to cruise through the area here. Weve seep a lot of Police Presence as well. People who rode out the storm are coming down today to get a look at whats going on. Weve seen folks on their bikes. A lot of people taking pictures. Even just had a drone in the air above us a little earlier from someone just trying to get a good shot of damage around the area. Thats the way it looks here. Its the way it looks for a good part of florida as well. The good news is buildings intact, structures intact that we have surveyed along the area. And this glass intact. So for most of these buildings, thats good. The bad news, no power, no water and no idea when any of that might come back, chris. As we see a fire rescue go behind you. Thank you, sam champion. Not just for today but for your reporting throughout. We appreciate it. On the phone now is miami city commissioner francis suarez. Thank you very much for joining us. Maybe you were able to hear some of what sam champion had to say from miami beach and i know the city of miami has been sending out their Damage Assessment teams already this morning. What are they finding . What theyre finding, as similar to miami beach, theyre finding a lot of downed power lines. Theyre finding a lot of trees that have been blown over. We have had part of that building boom requires that trees are planted along with the buildings. Were seeing a lot of newer trees pushed over. We lost two of our approximately ta cranes went down and i one in the middle of the storm, in a s. W. A. T. Vehicle, with a Building Official and fire marshal to analyze the potential thered to the surrounding areas of two of those cranes that sort of collapsed in the middle of the storm. I think, you know, residents what somewhat relieved we didnt get a direct hit. Once the storm started jogging to west, it sort of slowed down and jogged more to east. I think we got hit a little harder than we anticipated. We had winds easily in the 100mileperhour range. As we went out and tried to help people during the storm, we could feel the car blowing. When we got out, we were almost blown over. So, you know, theres the flooding that persisted extended about four blocks west and thankfully this morning im actually driving through bricel bay drive, and most of the storm surge flooding has receded. Its dry now. As you said, our assessment crews are out assessing the damage. They are assessing the damages to their facility to determine how quickly they can be back up and operational. Miami city commissioner francis suarez. I know your guys have a lot of work ahead of them. Even though it could have been much worse. We thank you so much for taking the time. We wish you a lot of luck. Bill karins, whos been working throughout this storm, again, were just seeing that even though in places like miami beach, sam champion was talking about this. Its going to be a while for them. Were about 90 done with this storm but we still have this last 10 were focusing on. Thats for people who may not be prepared or ready for damage to be done. It is going to happen. Im trying to find out if theyre doing evacuations near the savannah, georgia, area, because of this river forecast. We are seeing, and im sorry to interrupt you, bill, but this is obviously President Trump who is laying the wreath at the pentagon and there will be another moment of silence coming up in just about a minute. Thats the moment that American Airlines flight 77 struck the pentagon and you see the first lady is with the president but so are two men who have a very particular involvement with 9 11 because general james matt es, the secretary of defense in the early planning for the war, led a task force in the southern part of the country. The joint chiefs chairman general joseph dunnford was in command on 9 11 of the 5th marriage regiment. He served 22 months in iraq. Of course American Airlines flight 77 when it crashed killed all 64 people on board and 125 people who were in the building at the pentagon. Lets listen as they mark the 9 11 anniversary at the pentagon. Ladies and gentlemen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general joseph f. Dunnford jr. Ladies and gentlemen, the secretary of defense, james m. Mattis. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States and the first lady. Please face the flag for our national anthem. O say can you see by the dawns early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight over the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there o say does that star spangled banner yet wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave ladies and gentlemen, the United States air force chief of chaplains, Major General costin. Let us pray together. Heavenly father, we bow our heads this morning with our feet fixed on sacred soil. Consecrated on september 11th, 2001, by 184 innocents who perished in an instant but whose legacies will never die. Whereas moses was commanded from a burning bush on holy ground to rescue his countrymen from their oppressors. Our generation was commissioned from a burning building on this site to do the same. For the nearly 3,000 who lost their lives that day. We remember. For family members who deal with their loss to this day, we pray. For First Responders who helped others live to see another day, we rejoice. For those who witnessed this shot heard round the world and suited up for combat to seize the day, we thank you on this patriot day. Thank you for giving our Freedom Fighters enough grace to stand firm. Enough grit to stand tall. And enough guts to stand up to anyone gullible enough to assume america would ever stand down. Standing here in the shadow of their sacrifices. Please transform the raw emotion of this ceremony into righteous action worthy of their service. The scriptures tell us that one day well turn our swords into plow sheers and delete combat from our dictionaries. Until that prophesied peace persists, lord, help us demonstrate due diligence, not only in the quantity of our vigils but in the quality of our vigilance and keeping bad guys on the run. Give us the skill to succeed. When fear call, give us the will to win. When differences divide, unite us in a common cause, and when doubt appears, fill us with the faith to know that this cause, liberty, is clearly worth the cost. In closing, lord, we pause now for a moment of silent reflection. In your holy name we pray. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general joseph f. Dunnford jr. Mr. President , mrs. Trump, secretary mattis, members of the cabinet, distinguished guests and, most importantly, to the family and friends of the fallen, and to those gathered here who survived the attack on the morning. Its an honor to join you as we pause to reflect all those who lost their lives. At this ceremony, were particularly mindful of the 184 who died here in the halls of the pentagon and aboard flight 77. 16 years ago, when terrorists attacked the pentagon, the world trade center, as they attempted other attacks in washington, d. C. , they did so with a sense of purpose. They were attacking symbol also that reflect our way of life and our values. The terrorists believe that these attacks which shake our commitment to those values, and as president bush said hours after the attack, the terrorists thought they could frighten us into chaos and retreat but they were wrong. Instead of retreat, the tragedy of 9 11 produced in us an unyielding resolve. Instead of hopelessness, our mourning turned into action. We have strengthened our commitment to the idea that the freedom of many should never be in dangered by the hatred of a few. So this morning as we recall the events of 9 11, its appropriate for those of us still serving to remember and honor those who died. Those who continue suffering from injuries. And those left behind. But if we truly want to honor those remembered today, each of us will walk away from this ceremony about a renewed sense of commitment to our values and the cause of freedom. Each of us will walk away from this simple ceremony reminded that the war is not over and that further sacrifice will be required. And each of us will walk away with our resolve to strengthen our personal commitment to protect our family, friends and fellow citizens from another 9 11. Its now my privilege to introduce someone who has spent his life demonstrating personal commitment to protecting our values and our way of life. Our secretary of defense, the honorable james mattis. Thank you, general dunnford. Mr. President , mrs. Trump, our first lady, fellow secretaries of the president s cabinet, distinguished guests, First Responders, ladies and gentlemen, and a special heartfelt welcome to the 306 family members gathered to remember their loved ones loss 16 years ago today. We are here to honor those 2,977 lives claimed by the brutal attacks of september 11th, 2001. Men and women who woke that day never anticipating an attack on their place of work or against this country. Innocents who hailed from 90 nations and all walks of life. Attackers, perpetrating murder that fateful day. But heroism and compassion were boundless on 9 11. Patriots from all backgrounds and all walks of life responded with speed, with courage and with compassion. In the aftermath of the attack, our Service Members, our nation, rallied together as one. For while we have never asked for this fight, we are steadfastly committed to seeing it through as President Trump has made abundantly clear. And with no more temperizing as our example of leadership galvanizes other nations to stand united against this threat against all human kind. Maniacs in false religious garb thought they could hurt us that day. We americans are not made of cotton candy. We are not seaweed drifting in the current. We are not intimidated by our enemies and, mr. President , your military does not scare. Our nations troops today are worthy successors of our revolutionary army at valley forge. Worthy successors of our valiant sailors at midway and our marines at bloody hiroshima. Men and women of your armed forces, america, having signed a blank check to the protection of the American People and to the defense of our constitution, a check payable with their very lives, your military stand ready and confident to defend this country, this experiment in democracy. And we will continue to do so, using all means necessary and as long as necessary. So today we remember the loss of so many. And new york city, in a somber field, in pennsylvania, and here in this very building behind me. And in many battles since, and some of those battles are still raging. As former secretary of defense rumsfeld observed, on 9 11, every year, we again are mindful and resolute that their deaths, like their lives, shall have meaning. And that is in how we Carry Forward our responsibility to protect america. To the families of those who perished, the loss you have endured drives us in our Mission Today and every day. And its in that spirit, ladies and gentlemen, that its my honor to introduce our commander and chief, the president of the United States, donald trump. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. I want to thank you, secretary mattis, general dunford, members of the cabinet, members of the armed forces, First Responders and most importantly, to the families and to the survivors, its an honor to join you on this very, very solemn location. This is an occasion that is extraordinary and always be extraordinary. Before we begin, i would like to send our nations prayers to everyone in the path of Hurricane Irma and to everyone suffering through the devastation of hurricane harvey. These are storms of catastrophic severity. And were marshaling the full resources of the federal government to help our fellow americans in florida, alabama, georgia, texas, louisiana, tennessee and all of those wonderful places and states in harms way. When americans are in need, americans pull together. And we are one country. And when we face hardship, we emerge closer, stronger and more determined than ever. Were gathered here today to remember a morning that started very much like this one. Parents dropped off their children at school, travelers stood in line at airports and getting ready to board flights. Here at the pentagon and at offices all across the country, people began their early meetings. Then our whole world changed. America was under attack. First at the world trade center, then here at the pentagon, and then in pennsylvania. The horror and anguish of that dark day were seared into our National Memory forever. It was the worst attack on our country since pearl harbor. And even worse because this was an attack on civilians. Innocent men, women and children whose lives were taken so needlessly. For the families with us on this anniversary, we know that not a single day goes by when you dont think about the loved one stolen from your life. Today our entire nation grieves with you. And with every family of those 2,977 innocent souls who were murdered by terrorists 16 years ago. Each family here today represents a son or daughter, a sister or brother, a mother or father, who was taken from you on that terrible, terrible day. But no force on earth can ever take away your memories, diminish your love or break your will to endure and carry on and go forward. Though we can never erase your pain or bring back those you lost, we can honor their sacrifice by pledging our resolve to do whatever we must to keep our people safe. [ applause ] on that day, not only did the world change, but we all changed. Our eyes were opened to the depths of the evil we face. But in that hour of darkness, we also came together with renewed purpose. Our differences never looked so small. Our common bonds never felt so strong. The sacrifice grounds on which we stand today are a monument to our National Unity and to our strength. For more than seven decades, the pentagon has stood as a global symbol of american might. Not only because of the great power it contains within these halls, but because of the incredible character of the people who fill them. They secure our freedom, they defend our flag, and they support our courageous troops all around the world. Among the 184 brave americans who perished on these grounds were young enlisted Service Members dedicated Civil Servants who had worked here for decades and veterans who served our nation in korea, in vietnam and in the middle east. All of them loved this country and pledged their very lives to protect it. That september morning, each of those brave americans died as they had lived as heroes doing their duty and protecting us and our country. We mourn them, we honor them, and we pledge to never, ever forget them. [ applause ] we also remember the lives of those who boarded the flight at the Dulles Airport that morning. Every one of them had a beautiful story and beautiful dreams. Each of them had people they loved and who loved them back. And they all left behind a deep emptiness that their warmth and grace once filled so fully and so beautifully. The living, breathing soul of america we wapt with grief for every american taken on that day. We shed our tears in their memory, pledge our devotion in their honor and turned our sorrow into an unstoppable resolve to achieve justice in their name. The terrorists who attacked us thought they could insight fear and weaken our spirit. But america cannot be intimidated. And those who try will soon join the long list of vanquished enemies who dared to test our meddle. [ applause ] in the years after september 11th, more than 5 million american men and women have joined the ranks to defend against the barbaric forces of evil and destruction. American forces are relentlessly pursuing and destroying the enemys all civilized people ensuring these are horrible, horrible enemies. Enemies like we have never seen before. But were ensuring that they never again have a safehaven to launch attacks against our country. We are make iing plain to the se annual killers that there is no dark corner beyond our reach, no sanctuary beyond our grasp, and nowhere to hide anywhere on this very large earth. Since 9 11, nearly 7,000 Service Members have given their lives fighting terrorists around the globe. Some of them rest just beyond this fence in the shrine to our nations heroes on the grounds of Arlington National cemetery. They came from all backgrounds, all races, all fathings, but th were there to dedicate their lives and they defend our one Great American flag. [ applause ] they and every person that puts on the uniform has the love and gratitude of the entire nation. Today as we stand on this hallowed ground, we are reminded of the timeless truth that when america is united, no force on earth can break us apart. No force. On the morning of 9 11, Pentagon Police officer Isaac Hopewell and his special person was one of the many heroes whose love for his fellow americans knew no bounds. He was a mile away when he got the call over his radio that a plane has crashed into the pentagon. He sped to the scene and raced into smoke and fire. Few people would have done it. He ducked under live electrical wires and trudged through puddles of jet fuel only steps away from sparks and from vicious flame. In the pitch black, he began calling out people in need of help. Isaac heard up faint voices and he wanted to answer those faint voices. One by one he carried people out of the burning rubble. He kept going back into the smoldering darkness, calling out to anyone who could hear, anyone who was alive. He saved as many as 20 people who had followed his voice. He carried eight himself. For nearly 36