Remarks Delivered by Gov. Manchin at UBB Miners Memorial Service 

"I want to welcome everyone and thank you for joining us today.

Albert Einstein said, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow.”

We are here to honor the 29 brave men we lost and the two who were injured during that devastating blast in Montcoal, West Virginia, on April 5th.

Today is a day for us to come together, as a state, and speak about the strength of our miners. The strength of their families. And the strength of West Virginians. 

Today is also the day for our state, with the nation joining us, to begin the healing process that allows us to move forward when we’ve been so badly wounded.

I want to thank everyone around the nation and throughout the world for their prayers and wishes during the last couple of weeks.

We feel your sympathy and love here in the Mountain State.

My main goal since I first learned of the explosion has been to make sure our miners were represented honorably and that their families would have the support and protection they needed during this difficult time. 

I have personally been through this type of tragedy, losing my uncle and many friends in the 1968 Farmington, West Virginia Mine explosion.

So, it was important to me, to make sure those who did not know West Virginia mining families, would come to understand the character and substance of these wonderful people who play such an important role in this great state and nation of ours.

As I listened to our First Lady read each of our 29 miners’ names, and watched as each family came forward to place a helmet in honor of their loved ones, I was saddened like all of you, but I was also inspired.

Amid the pain, I see courage.

It’s the same courage I saw in the faces of these wives, these mothers, these fathers, these brothers, these sisters, these sons and these daughters, those long nights as we all waited for more news at Upper Big Branch.

Each of you exhibit a will and a spirit that we all admire, and this service today is our expression of love and hope for the comfort we wish you all.

These were strong men. They were strong in stature. Strong in character. Strong in love. Strong in courage. Strong in their communities. Strong in their commitment to family. Strong in their faith in God.

Today is our chance to be strong in their honor.

These were hard-working and brave men. It takes brave men to work beneath the surface. Today is our chance to be brave in their honor.

Mining was the job they chose, and the work they loved. They were very skilled and very good at what they did.

And I believe that each of those 29 miners – like every miner working today as well as many of their fathers and grandfathers that worked before them – had not only a strong commitment to provide a good living for their families, but a deep and patriotic pride that the work they did and the energy they produced made America strong and kept her free.

And my wish is that every American takes the time to say a prayer for every coal miner who is still working today to keep our nation vibrant and safe, and not only thank them, but honor them for their work and patriotism. 

I also want to take a moment to recognize our rescue teams, who are seated on the floor among our fallen miners’ family members.

They stood side by side with all of us throughout this disaster and put their own lives at risk to find their fallen brothers.

And when we ultimately learned we had lost them all, our rescuers switched their cap lights on and went back in the mine to bring their friends home in the most honorable way.

We all thank you and are honored you are here.

I want to thank President Obama and Vice President Biden who have come today to make this journey of honor with us.

And I hope that everyone here today – and everyone watching around this nation -- has discovered during this time of tragedy what’s so special about our miners and our mining families.

After today, we turn our focus to their legacy.

I don’t have the answers about why this has happened.  But I promise you we will find out and I pledge that your loved ones will not have died in vain.

We owe it to you. We owe it to them.

I know from personal experience that you will never fill the void from their loss. But I also know that you will never lose the precious memories that you have of these wonderful men. Our miners. 

A Chinese proverb goes something like this:

“To get through the hardest journey, we need take only one step at a time . . .  but we must keep on stepping.”

Our journey through grief is a long one, but our healing has begun and we are all stepping forward.   Thank you and God bless you all."

Tweet

Contact Information