Trump, Biden Commemorate 9/11 Attacks with Visits to Memorials

As the nation stops to once again to mourn the loss of 2,977 Americans on September 11, 2001 at the hands of al-Qaeda terrorists, President Donald Trump and the Democrat nominee for president, Joe Biden, took time off from their campaigns to commemorate this solemn day.

The President and first Lady Melania Trump observed a moment of silence aboard Air Force One at 8:46 a.m., the moment when the first of the Twin Towers was hit, on their way to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the crash site of Flight 93, where passengers fought back against the terrorists and caused the plane to crash in an open field. It is assumed that the plane was headed to Washington, D.C. to target either the U.S. Capitol or the White House.

Prior to Flight 93’s crash, another plane hit the Pentagon, resulting in the loss of 125 lives there.

President Trump issued the annual 9/11 Proclamation in keeping with Congress’ resolution from 2001 designating each September 11 as Patriot’s Day.

Photo from REUTERS

“To fulfill our collective promise never to forget, we impart the memory of that fateful day to our children and grandchildren,” the proclamation reads in part. “The smoke that rose from the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and the Pennsylvania field carried away the souls of innocent Americans. As we recall the images of our American Flag raised from the ashes of Ground Zero and the Pentagon, we are reminded that good triumphs over evil. We recommit ourselves to fortifying our cherished American values so that future generations will know in their souls that the United States is the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

At the memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania the president delivered his remarks.

“Nineteen years ago, on this day, at this very hour, on this field, 40 brave men and women triumphed over terror and gave their lives in defense of our nation,” the president said during his speech. “Their names and their stories are forever inscribed on the eternal roll call of American heroes.

“When terrorists raced to destroy the seat of our democracy, the 40 of Flight 93 did the most American of things: They took a vote, and then they acted. Together, they charged the cockpit, they confronted the pure evil, and in their last act on this Earth, they saved our capital.

“In this Pennsylvania field, the 40 intrepid souls of Flight 93 died as true heroes. Their momentous deeds will outlive us all.”

Vice President Biden visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in New York City in the morning and then traveled to the Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville.

Photo from REUTERS

The Biden campaign released a statement from the Vice President concerning the 9/11 remembrance. Here’s an excerpt:

“Nineteen years ago, our nation was tested by an unspeakable act of cowardice and hate. Nearly 3,000 lives were cut short on that God-awful September day: a once-unthinkable toll which tore open the hearts of sons and daughters, parents, siblings, grandchildren and grandparents, neighbors and friends — loved ones faced with the harrowing, hollowing news that the dearest thing in their life had been suddenly taken away.

“In the days that followed September 11th, we wondered together whether life in America had been permanently thrown off of its axis. But as so often happens in moments of crisis, the tragedy of 9/11 revealed the character of Americans. First responders and ordinary citizens who ran courageously into the cloak of ash and fire to save the lives of those they’d never met. A new generation who answered the call to serve their country in uniform.  Our leaders, who put differences aside for a time to form a united front of empathy, comfort, and resolve for a nation in mourning. And our people, who came together to summon from our shared grief the hope and common purpose we needed to get up and go on.

Vice President Biden and Vice President Mike Pence and his wife ran into each other at the 9/11 Memorial event in New York, exchanging elbow bump greetings, according to The Associated Press.

Photo from Shutterstock

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