Honoring the men, women, and children who loved, lost, and served on that fateful day, To the People of September 11 is a dramatic reading appropriate for any Patriot Day memorial service.

To purchase an updated and downloadable PDF version of the following script click HERE.

Production Notes

To the People of September 11 was originally written as a tribute post for the 10th anniversary of September 11, but could easily be used as a dramatic reading for any Patriot Day memorial service.

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To The People of September 11

To the babies that lost their daddies so many years ago today –
You are the anti-terror.
Every morning you wake up and live and dream for full lives you are proof that life rises from ashes and hope comes new on the morning.

To the moms made single by September 11 –
You are so brave.  
It is unfathomable to begin to imagine the grief that coupled your joy as you took that first look at your precious son or daughter, then began the journey of raising them . . . alone.

To the first responders –
You are homeland warriors.  
It would have made sense to turn around and run.  We would have understood, but you pressed on until every possible rescue was made – or died trying.

To the relief workers near and far who followed their hearts to New York City –
You are self-less.  
How you managed to leave your lives to sift through debris and death clinging to the hope there might be one more saved is beyond our comprehension.

To every soldier who pledged America will never know this heartache again –
You are heroes.  
We are indebted to your continued sacrifice to make our world and our families safe.

To those who we lost –
You are not forgotten.
We will remember.  For as long as the sun shines on this nation, there will be a voice that carries your memory from one generation to the next.

To New York City –
You are a beacon.
In times past and in times to come.  We are reminded every time we see your night sky that there is nothing we can’t do as a people – that no matter what – we will rise because we are Americans.

To all that is terrible and ugly and wrong with this world –
You will not win.
You never have.
You never will.

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Authors Note

I was eighteen-years-old September 11, and it moved me beyond what I thought was possible.  But in the years that have followed, I have lived life and dreamed dreams, and grown up to understand a little more acutely what it must have felt like to lose someone that terrible day.  I have a husband now, and two little boys.  I cannot fathom a world in which one of us no longer exists.  

This entry is dedicated to those who fought and those who were lost in honor of September 11, 2001.

Romans 8:28 (NIV)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

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