In his first public appearance since suffering a stroke this past June, Gov. Tom Ridge shared a video message on the occasion of the 20th commemoration of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Tom Ridge was Pennsylvania’s governor on 9/11 and visited the United Flight 93 crash site just hours after it tragically crashed near Shanksville. He would later go on to serve as the first Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and, on January 24, 2003, became the first Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The creation of the country’s 15th Cabinet Department marked the largest reorganization of government since the Truman administration and another call to service for the former soldier, congressman and governor of Pennsylvania. Gov. Ridge served as Secretary of this historic and critical endeavor until Feb. 1, 2005.
Gov. Ridge was proud to serve as honorary co-chair of the fundraising effort that led to the construction of Flight 93 National Memorial.
