On the 17th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America, President Trump paid tribute to the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 and pledged that the country would take inspiration from their actions.
“This field is now a monument to American defiance. This memorial is now a message to the world: ‘America will never, ever, submit to tyranny,’ ” Trump said during a ceremony in Shanksville, Pa.
The president and first lady Melania Trump visited the memorial site where Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, killing 40 passengers and crew members who fought to retake control of the hijacked plane. The president donned a ribbon honoring the victims of the crash, whom he lauded as “brave patriots” who rose up and “changed the course of history.”
“We honor their sacrifice by pledging to never flinch in the face of evil and by doing whatever it takes to keep America safe,” Trump said.
Trump spoke for roughly 20 minutes, peppering in personal details and stories from those who died or lost loved ones. Trump referenced final phone calls from those aboard the plane, the coordinated efforts among passengers to fight back, and one woman’s search for her husband’s wedding ring among the wreckage.
Trump, who last year attended a service at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, has a complicated history with 9/11.
Trump has made a number of controversial statements about Sept. 11, such as when he falsely claimed that “thousands and thousands of people were cheering” in New Jersey when the Twin Towers collapsed. He has also in the past appeared to blame former President Clinton for the attack for failing to kill Osama bin Laden.
New York City marked the anniversary with a moment of silence at the site of the attacks on Tuesday morning.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, Rudy Giuliani, Nikki Haley, Bill de Blasio and Chris Christie were in attendance in New York.
Margie Miller was among the 9/11 victims’ relatives, survivors, rescuers and others who gathered on a misty Tuesday morning at the memorial plaza where the World Trade Center’s twin towers once stood.
She came to the site from her home in suburban Baldwin, as she does 10 or so times a year, to remember her husband, Joel Miller. Only a few fragments of his remains were recovered.
“To me, he is here. This is my holy place,” his widow said before the ceremony began with a moment of silence and tolling bells at 8.46am, the time when the trade center was hit by the first of two terrorist-piloted planes.
At the Pentagon, a choked-up Vice President Mike Pence recalled the deaths of ‘little children just finding their way in the world’ when American Airlines Flight 77 brought down part of the Pentagon’s west wall.
“There were new recruits and dedicated veterans, patriots all,” he said.
But he recalled the teamwork as military brass and enlisted men and women rushed to crawl through the rubble for survivors.
“I’ll never forget what I saw that day. I saw heroism. I saw strength,” Pence said.