Update: Alexandria Mayor Euille Commends President Obama

City of Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille commended President Obama for the successful operation by U.S. forces in Pakistan that killed terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Twelve Alexandrians died on Sept. 11, 2001 in those attacks. Some were from the City of Alexandria and others from the greater Alexandria region.

Euille told Patch Monday morning: "The first thing that went through my mind when I heard the news was congratulations to President Obama for a job well done."

Euille said he had been working at his computer Sunday night when he heard the news that the president would shortly make an address about an issue of national security that was of no immediate threat to the nation. Of course as mayor of a mid-size city outside the nation's capital, he was significantly interested in what Obama had to say.

"What happened last night was a big relief," he said. "I would like to think that this is a new beginning, a moment of celebration" before returning to our regular, daily lives. 

Euille added that "this nation has never dropped its guard in terms of being security conscious" and said he believes that the national, regional and local public safety security systems that took root since 9/11 will continue to be a valuable force against any future "risk opportunities."

American flags popped up in front of homes and businesses around Old Town and Del Ray on Monday morning.

At barber shop on Mt. Vernon Avenue, staff members discussed the news while waiting for customers.

Mark Washington, a barber and military veteran who served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, said he found out about bin Laden's death watching television on Sunday night.

"I thought it was about time," Washington said, with a read-through copy of Monday's Washington Post draped across the seat next to him. "I was in the military and felt we should have had him a long time ago."

Washington said the news of bin Laden's death brought some closure to the country's efforts to counter terrorism.

"There's closure to a degree," he said. "It's not over. We're going into another chapter. ... There might be repercussions. We need to be more diligent. And it wouldn't hurt for us to treat people better."    

The Alexandrians who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks:

Eddie Dillard, a retired executive with Philip Morris

Capt. Robert Edward Dolan, U.S. Navy

Diane M. Hale-McKinzy, U.S. Army

Bryan C. Jack, Defense Department

Steven D. Jacoby, Metrocall

Terence M. Lynch, Booz-Allen Hamilton

Maj. Clifford L. Patterson Jr., U.S. Army

Cmdr. Robert Allan Schlegel, U.S. Navy

Ret. Lt. Col. Gary F. Smith, U.S. Army

Norma Lange Steuerle, clinical psychologist

Sandra C. Taylor, U.S. Army

Meta L. Walker, U.S. Army

Alexandrians who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom:

Command Sgt. Maj. James D. Blakenbecler

Cpl. Binh N. Le

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Sharon T. Swartworth

Spec. Robert E. Drawl Jr.

Maj. Joseph T. McCloud

“It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction,” said President Obama in a speech Sunday night.

“And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world.  The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.”