The White House Blog: The Vice President

Observing the Tenth Anniversary of September 11

This weekend, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden remembered those who were lost in the attacks on September 11, 2001. September 11th has been designated as a National Day of Service and Remembrance and the First Family started the weekend by joining Americans from across the country in participating in service projects to honor those whose lives were taken ten years ago.

On Saturday, Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden were joined by President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and former First Lady Laura Bush in Shanksville, Pennsylvania to participate in a dedication ceremony for the first phase of the Flight 93 National Memorial.

Watch a glimpse of the Memorial with the Vice President and Dr. Biden here.

Vice President Biden on Remembering 9/11: "We are a Nation about Possibilities"

Vice President Joe Biden talks with the subjects of a documentary called Rebirth, before a screening in the South Court Auditorium at the White House, September 7, 2011. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

As part of the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, Vice President Joe Biden hosted a screening for Washington, DC area college students of REBIRTH, a documentary film that chronicles the lives of five people directly affected by the events on 9/11. The film follows a survivor from the South Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC); a firefighter who survived the collapse of the WTC but lost his best friend; a high school student who lost his mother; a young woman who lost her fiancé; and a construction worker who lost his brother, assisted with recovery efforts, and is presently helping to build the Freedom Tower.

The area college students were invited to the White House screening to reflect on the tragic events that shaped their generation and their country, and that continue to affect the world today. In remarks introducing the film, Vice President Biden emphasized the extraordinary ability of America to find renewal and rebirth even in its darkest hours and praised the courage and determination of the survivors and family members struggling to find renewal in their own lives.

West Wing Week: Dispatches From Asia

Welcome to West Wing Week, your guide to everything that happens at 1600 Pennslyvania Avenue. This week we are broadcasting dispatches from Vice President Joe Biden's trip through China, Mongolia and Japan.
 
In between meeting with world leaders and speaking with locals, the Vice President took in the sights, sounds and culture of the far east. Join the Vice President as he opens new channels of communication with China, gets to know Mongolian leaders and culture at a traditional Naadam festival and visits Japanese communities recovering from the March earthquake and tsunami before speaking to US troops in Tokyo and Hawaii

VP in Asia: Paying Tribute to the "Incredible Spirit" of Tsunami Survivors

Vice President Joe Biden talks to survivors of the Japanese tsunami at a temporary housing center in Natori, Japan, Aug. 23, 2011. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Vice President Biden arrived In Tokyo late Monday evening -- the final leg of his trip through Asia. As he told Prime Minister Naoto Kan, he came to Japan for two main reasons: to express sympathy, admiration, and continued support from the U.S. in the wake of the March 11th earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, and to reiterate the strength of the U.S.-Japan alliance. "We [the United States] are a Pacific power. You are a Pacific power. You are our ally," said the Vice President.

From Tokyo, he traveled 90 miles north to the Sendai region -- one of the hardest hit by the tsunami last March. Delivering remarks on the second floor of Sendai International Airport's main terminal -- where hundreds of residents from nearby neighborhoods fled to escape the tsunami's path -- Vice President Biden praised U.S. Forces Japan  for working around the clock to clear debris and repair a runway that enabled the arrival of hundreds of relief workers, and hundreds of tons of humanitarian assistance.

Vice President Biden also paid tribute to the "incredible spirit" of the Japanese people. The Japanese "remind the world of something equally as forceful as the force of nature," said Vice President Biden. That spirit "is equally as formidable, particularly when we join together in the most trying of times," he said.

After paying his respects at a memorial site where the town of Natori once stood, the Vice President took a short ride to a temporary housing facility that hundreds of Natori residents now call home.  Meeting with displaced survivors and listening to their stories, the Vice President pledged that "America isn't going anywhere" and that U.S. assistance will be available as long as they need it.

Vice President Biden concluded his trip to Japan by delivering remarks to U.S. service members and their families at Yokota Air Base -- headquarters of U.S. Forces Japan.  In his speech, the Vice President thanked the troops for their quick and decisive efforts to help the Japanese people and provide critical assistance in the aftermath of the disaster.

Don't miss the photo gallery of the Vice President's visit to Japan. For complete coverage of his three country trip, click here.