September 11,2001 - 5 years later.

MICHAEL McCAFFERTY says:

Five years ago I had the following letter published in major daily newspapers in the United States and Canada....

Right now there are tears in my eyes. I want to share with others my reflections on this horrible act of war on America. I want to pay tribute to those innocents who have died and to salute New York's "finest" -- the firefighters and police.

More than 40 years ago as a young boy I read a biography of Abraham Lincoln. His life inspired in me a life-long affinity for America and all that it stands for.

I love America, and believe it is the greatest republic in the history of the world.

The attack on America is one of the darkest moments in history. It stands there in monumental magnitude with the Civil War that Abraham Lincoln faced and with Pearl Harbor that Franklin Roosevelt faced. It is always darkest before the dawn and my heart and prayers go out to President Bush as he leads the free world at this tragic time in history.

Watching these events unfold on television, I feel a sense of being helpless, yet I have a firm confidence in leaders like President Bush. I believe Secretary of State Colin Powell when he says, "There will be a worldwide war on terrorism."

More Americans died on Tuesday than at Pearl Harbor in 1941. My heart goes out to all those American families who lost those they love. It is my prayer that they will not have died for nothing.

Abraham Lincoln in the immortal Gettysburg Address said: "...we resolve that these dead shall have not died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

I know Lincoln's words at Gettysburg will once again ring true. From Canada I say: God bless America!