Press Releases 2007
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte Honors 9/11 victims in U.S. Embassy Kabul Memorial Ceremony
September 11, 2007
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Sept. 11, 2007 - Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte led a memorial service today honoring the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Speaking before the flagpole on the grounds of the U.S. Embassy, Deputy Secretary Negroponte encouraged the assembled American, Afghan and international staff of the Embassy to remember the sacrifices of the 9/11 victims, and he thanked them for their service.
The Deputy Secretary also honored the memory of Santa Gracia Ramirez, an American contractor working with the Embassy Corrections System Support Program. Ramirez was killed in a suicide bombing attack on June 28, 2007, while traveling to her job as a corrections officer advisor mentor at Kabul’s Pul-i-Charkhi Prison.
Karen Hall, the U.S. Embassy Justice Advisor, remembered Ms. Ramirez as a dedicated professional who was committed to teaching Afghan Corrections Officers about human rights, and improving the treatment of Afghan prisoners. Hall noted that the corrections officers being trained by Ms. Ramirez at the time of her death went on to graduate from their class and are serving today.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Deputy Secretary joined U.S. Marines from the Embassy Marine Security Guard Detachment in laying a wreath beside the flagpole. The flagpole site contains rubble from the World Trade Center site interred there by members of the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Army Special Forces who served in Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks.