Never forget: For some, Sept. 11, 2001, is just history. It shouldn't be.

You don't need a lot of words to know exactly why Americans should not only pause on Sept. 11 each year, but why they should remember the events of that day as they plan the future defense of their nation and the course of international relations.

More than 3,000 innocent people dead. There is not much more that needs to be said than that.

There are some who seem to have forgotten why we are in the Middle East and what prompted the United States to head overseas in the first place.

So, today, a reminder.

Early this morning, eight years ago, terrorists came across our borders, boarded planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

And if it weren't for a band of pretty brave Americans, there would have been another crash and even more lives lost. That final plane's path ended in a field in Pennsylvania.

These attacks were on innocents -- men, women and children, unarmed and unprotected. And, yes, they were unprovoked.

Today, there were lots of moments of silence, lots of politicians making speeches and Americans with memories of where they were when they heard the news.

But the best commemoration of the day when so many lost their lives is to remember how they died.

So fly your flag and wipe away a tear or two, but make sure this nation's leaders know that you want your country to stand strong -- and to never, ever forget not only those we lost, but the mission we started on Sept. 12, 2001.

Published in Editorials on September 11, 2009 10:44 AM