Today marks 17 years ago and one day since terrorists took down two iconic buildings and attacked the Pentagon.

And it was on this day that a nation brought to its knees by the evil, surprise attack stood tall and proud. We were wounded, hurting and scared, but foremost, we were Americans.

The deep, painful scars of the 9/11 attacks will forever be burned in our memories. Most Americans who were of an age to remember the attacks can vividly remember where they were and how they learned of the horrors unfolding before a live audience.

But as the smoke was still rising and dust settled, something much greater, something much more powerful than an airliner turned bomb was unfolded.

A giant American flag hung from the Pentagon brought tears to the eyes of many Americans. It was an enormous symbol to say to the terrorists, “We’ve been wounded, but we will not be broken.”

In the days and weeks following the 9/11 attacks an unprecedented, at least since World War II, level of patriotism and togetherness spread across the country.

We were no longer a nation divided by differences of policy, political party or pigment.

We were a people welded together by a love for our country and for each other.

Today, our prayer for our country is that we can remember how that emergence of patriotism felt and that we have the collective wisdom to set aside our differences and find ways to celebrate those American emotions again.

God bless our country and may we never let enemies — foreign or domestic — split our country’s resolve to work together.