Billy Graham's Talk on 'New Enemy' Recalled on 9/11 Anniversary; Trump Signs Proclamation
Evangelist Billy Graham's talk of a "new kind of enemy" and warfare, made just three days after September 11, 2001, were echoed on the 17th anniversary of the terror attacks.
Son Franklin Graham, who is the CEO and president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, posted on Monday on Facebook an excerpt from his late father's speech, delivered at the Washington National Cathedral following the attacks.
"No matter how hard we try, words simply cannot express the horror, the shock and the revulsion we all feel over what took place in this nation on Tuesday morning. September 11 will go down in our history as a Day to Remember," Billy Graham said at the time.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"But today we especially come together in this service to confess our need of God. We've always needed God from the very beginning of this nation. But today we need Him especially. We're facing a new kind of enemy. We're involved in a new kind of warfare. And we need the help of the Spirit of God," he warned.
"The Bible words are our hope, 'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,'" he added, quoting from Psalm 46:1 in the Bible.
The September 11, 2001, attacks, organized in large by Islamic terror group al-Qaeda, saw four passenger airplanes hijacked.
Two of the aircrafts crashed in the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in New York; the third crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.; while a fourth (that was headed to Washington) fell in a field in Pennsylvania. A total of 2,996 people died in the attacks that day.
The U.S. has indeed been involved in a new kind of warfare ever since, dubbed "the war on terror," leading to years-long operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places in the Middle East and African region.
U.S. President Donald Trump marked the 17th anniversary of the attacks by proclaiming September 11, 2018, to be Patriot Day.
"I call upon all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States to display the flag of the United States at half-staff on Patriot Day in honor of the individuals who lost their lives on September 11, 2011," Trump said in a White House proclamation.
"I invite the Governors of the United States and its Territories and interested organizations and individuals to join in this observance.
"I call upon the people of the United States to participate in community service in honor of those our Nation lost, to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, including remembrance services, and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time to honor the innocent victims who perished as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001."
U.S. publications observed the anniversary with testimonials and memories of survivors from the tragic day. Tim Sullivan, a lieutenant with the Fire Department of New York's Special Operations Command, described in a Fox News article how the day and rescue work unfolded.
"Today, our country seems divided more than ever," Sullivan reflected.
"But as I look back on how our great nation united together seventeen years ago in the face of adversity, my hope is that we can rekindle the support and care for one another that seems to have faded."
