Never Forget. What does it really mean? Today, 9-11-17 marks the day everyone in America should always be aware of, for it was on this day that America changed forever.

We should always remember, honor and pay tribute to those who were killed by terrorists on that day, 9-11-01. We should never forget them and the suffering wrought on so many others as a result of the terrorists acts.

But the words, Never Forget, now to many, have softened with age into something that just seems to be ceremonial or maybe an obligatory pause to reflect, just because it is the thing to do. Perhaps now a ritual of sorts that has just become another thing we Americans do, like Memorial Day or the Fourth of July.

It is right to never forget those who were taken on that day.

But I say that the words “Never Forget” are more important than just memorial services. When I said America changed that day, it did. And that change is that we must also Never Forget that it could happen again, and next time it could be even worse. The events of 9-11-01 are not just something terrible that happened. It is something that could happen again, in spite of our best efforts to stop it.

We must be ever vigilant, unceasing in our efforts and steeled in our resolve to fight this evil to never let this happen again – to anyone, or any country, ever again.

We must never forget that there are those who are still plotting and acting to attack our country, our citizens and our way of life in ways too terrible for most of us to even imagine.

Yes, we must never forget the pain, suffering and death that radical Islamic Terrorists brought to our shores. But we must never forget that they will try again and again and again to do the same.

We must Never Give Up, Never Give In and Never Forget.

God Bless America,

Ernest Emerson