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NAVADMIN 203/21 
 
MSGID/NAVADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/CNO// 
 
SUBJ/CNO MESSAGE TO THE FLEET - 20 YEAR PASSAGE OF 9/11// 
 
RMKS/1.  Shipmates, today we mark the passage of 20 years since 9/11 - a day 
where terrorism darkened the doorstep of America and changed our lives 
forever.  In the blink of an eye, planes crashed into New York City's Twin 
Towers, the Pentagon, and Somerset County Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 
innocent Americans.  The attacks also inflicted a devastating emotional toll, 
which many still feel today. 
 
2.  As we reflect on that day, we honor the service and sacrifice you and 
your families have made since 9/11, we salute the heroism of our first 
responders, and we remember the lives lost in Afghanistan and Iraq over the 
past two decades. 
 
3.  For me, people are the legacy of 9/11.  People have devoted their lives 
to a cause greater than themselves. People have acted with conviction, 
courage, and a love of country.  And people have dedicated their lives to 
ensuring an attack like that never happens again.  You see, as long as brave 
men and women are willing to fight for freedom and justice, democracy will 
never fail. 
 
4.  In dark times, we all need examples of courage and character to light the 
way forward.  Today and throughout our nations history, the valor of service 
members and first responders illuminate what we are capable of when we act on 
our highest principles. 
 
5.  While it may not always be easy to see, your decision to place service 
before self - and the decision of hundreds of thousands of men and women like 
you - will strengthen America for generations to come.  This is how we honor 
the tragic events of 9/11. 
 
6.  Shipmates, let us pay solemn tribute to this day.  And let us continue to 
rise together. 
 
7.  Never more proud to be your CNO. 
 
8.  Released by Admiral Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations.// 
 
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