News Releases for September 2003
September 11, 2003
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Hoeven Commemorates September 11 Memorial At International Peace Garden
Governor Joined By U.S. Ambassador To Canada, Canadian Dignitaries
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven and First Lady Mikey Hoeven today were joined by Canadian Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, Manitoba Premier Gary Doer, U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci, and U.S. Consul General Todd Swartz at a September 11th memorial ceremony at the International Peace Garden. The ceremony was held to remember the victims and families of the terrorist attacks and highlight the shared democratic values and lasting peace between the United States and Canada.
“Today, we stand together - physically and spiritually - with our Canadian friends to honor the nearly 3,000 innocent people who died at the hands of terrorists on September 11, 2001,” Hoeven said. “We honor them in a place that is a living testimony to the fact that two nations and two peoples can live together for generations, side by side in peace. We also honor all our men and women in uniform who are fighting the War on Terrorism, and their families, as well as our veterans and all those who have sacrificed life and liberty in defense of our country.”
An honor guard of fire fighters from North Dakota and Manitoba led a march from the peace chapel to the memorial site, which was created out of ten twisted steel girders from the World Trade Center. School choirs from North Dakota and Manitoba sang their respective national anthems before addresses by Hoeven, Cellucci, Manley and Doer.
"Our two nations share a common border and a common peace that is vitally important to us all, and so today we pay tribute to our shared grief." said Doer. "The International Peace Garden is a symbol of our strong relationship, a bond between friends as well as allies. There is no better location to celebrate this friendship as we remember and reaffirm our hope: let peace prevail."
A moment of silence was observed at the State Capitol in Bismarck at 9:03 a.m. CT (10:03 a.m. ET) to coincide with the approximate time that the fourth hijacked plane, Flight 93, crashed in a Pennsylvania field on September 11, 2001.
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