Pearl Harbor survivor Houston James of Dallas embraced Marine Staff Sgt. Mark Graunke Jr. during a Veterans Day commemoration.  Graunke lost a hand, a leg, and an eye when he defused a bomb in Iraq last year.

Thank you Houston James and Staff Sgt Mark Graunke Jr. for your service and sacrifices for our country!  We will never forget!

Seven years ago today, September 11th, 2001, we experienced the greatest act of terrorism ever perpetrated on American soil.  Most of us watched in horror as the events unfolded that fateful morning with a single question in our minds ... why?  The ideology of a fanatical religion and the cowardly acts of 19 hijackers marked a moment in our nation's mind which will live on forever.  We watched as the Twin Towers burned, then fell.  We watched as the Pentagon burned.  And we watched as Flight 93, likely heading for the White House, crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.  A total of 2,819 innocent people lost their lives that day from 115 different nations.  And sadly, there were 3,051 children whose mother or father would never return home.

I remember exactly what I was doing the moment I heard the first news of the hijackings.  You probably remember, too.  It is estimated that 20 percent of Americans knew someone, who was hurt or killed in the attacks that day.  This tragedy affected our nation ... and the world.  May we never forget those who died that day!

May we never forget the families and friends who lost loved ones!  May we never forget the 343 firefighters and paramedics, the 23 NYPD officers, or the 37 Port Authority police officers who gave their lives trying to save others! May God bless all who were impacted by the wan toned death and destruction. And may God bless America ...!!

His name was Charles Allen Bourne, Jr.  Born in 1925, he would later join the Army and serve with the 36^th Division. Originally organized from units of the Texas and Oklahoma National Guard for service in World War I, the 36^th was re-mobilized for federal service in 1940. One of the major units in the now famous Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941, this division became critical to the victory in WWII.  The 36^th was the first American combat Division to land on the continent of Europe, fighting up the boot of Italy until pulled out for special service against the infamous German Siegfried Line.

In August of 1944 and, as part of Operation Anvil, renamed Operation Dragoon, after the planning phase, Staff Sergeant Charles Bourne was part of the Allied landings in Southern France. The mission handed the 36^th Division was to clear a ridge deep inside the Vosges mountains. Finding themselves surrounded by the German Army, the 36^th was cut off from all support and supplies October 1944 and would forevermore be known as the “Lost Battalion”.  They endured five days of battle until October 30^th when rescued by the Army’s first all Japanese-American Nisei military unit, the 100^th Battalion / 442^nd Combat Infantry Group.  The 100^th/442^nd lost more than 400 men and half its force to save SSgt. Bourne and 229 of his brothers.

Charles Allen Bourne, Jr.      1925 – 2008

SSgt. Charles Allen Bourne, Jr. passed away earlier this month. I did not have the honor of meeting him. But his story, his passion, and his service live on in the hearts of those serving the same country he fought for 64 years ago. We are the greatest nation in the world because of men like him.

Thank you for your service SSgt. Bourne.