DENVER — Flags are flying at half-staff on Wednesday for Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.
President Joe Biden issued a proclamation calling for departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States to display the flag at half-staff on Wednesday.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis followed Biden's proclamation and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday.
"Today, we honor the brave Americans who met the terror of September 11 with extraordinary acts of courage and sacrifice," said Biden in his proclamation. "In our darkest hour — when terrorists believed they could bring our country to its knees — those Americans proved that our Nation’s unbreakable spirit would prevail."
"In the moments, days, and years after the attacks on September 11, heroes were forged. Firefighters, police officers, and first responders ran into the inferno of jet fuel and debris at Ground Zero, risking their own lives to save the lives of others," said Biden. "Service members and civilians rushed into the fiery breach at the Pentagon again and again to rescue their colleagues. The patriotic passengers of Flight 93 made the ultimate sacrifice to prevent their plane from being used to take more innocent souls. And in big cities, rural towns, suburbs, and Tribal communities, hundreds of thousands of American hands went up — ready to serve our Nation in uniform."
"We owe these patriots of the 9/11 Generation a debt of gratitude that we can never fully repay," said Biden. "They were deployed to Afghanistan to make sure the United States would not be attacked again. They served in Iraq and other war zones to defend our democracy and deny terrorists safe haven. They followed Osama bin Laden to the ends of the Earth and ultimately sent him to the gates of hell. And 2 years ago, we made sure his deputy met the same fate.
"The First Lady and I hold all those whose loved ones gave their last full measure of devotion in this fight close in our hearts. And we will never stop working to fulfill our country’s sacred obligation to them and every military and veteran family, caregiver, and survivor: to properly prepare and equip those we send into harm’s way and to care for them and their families when they return home — and when they do not.
"Over the last 23 years, what was destroyed, we have repaired. What was threatened, we have fortified. What was attacked — the indomitable American spirit — prevailed," said Biden. "That is who we are. That is the soul of our Nation. There is nothing we cannot accomplish when we defend with all our hearts that which makes us unique in the world: our democracy. That is what the heroes and patriots of 9/11 did. And that is what we must all continue to do today."
