President Donald Trump commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the Pentagon on Friday, honoring the victims, first responders and service members while renewing the nation’s pledge to remember those lost.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
President Donald Trump marked a quarter-century since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks Friday with a solemn address at the Pentagon, declaring that the nearly 3,000 people killed that morning and the Americans who responded in its aftermath “will never, ever be forgotten.”
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Trump and first lady Melania Trump joined victims’ families, survivors, military leaders and other officials at the Pentagon, where the names of the 184 people killed there were read aloud as a bell sounded between each name.
“Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names, a quarter of a century ago,” Trump said. “We will never, ever forget.”
The president reflected on how much time has passed since Sept. 11, 2001, while saying the horror of the attacks remains firmly embedded in the country’s memory.
“Twenty-five times we have gathered at this hallowed place and at Ground Zero in New York, in a lonely field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania,” Trump said. “In 25 years, a generation has passed since the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001, yet time has not dimmed the horror of that day when our country came face-to-face with true evil.”
Trump recalled how al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial aircraft that morning, striking the World Trade Center and Pentagon while United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville after passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers.
“With the events of that morning, 2,977 beautiful souls were ripped from our world, and many more died in the weeks and years after,” Trump said.
“For anyone who lived it, no words can do justice to the anguish of that day,” he added.
Trump devoted portions of the address to individual victims, including Patrick Dennehy, who called his pregnant wife, Mary, from his office in the World Trade Center’s South Tower after the North Tower had been struck.
Mary later watched on television as United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower.
“Free people must never avert their eyes from such hideous cruelty,” Trump said. “We cannot forget that moment of immense and horrible evil.”
But much of Trump’s speech focused not only on the destruction of Sept. 11 but also on how Americans responded.
“On days like 9/11, we learned what a country is truly made of,” Trump said. “Americans are made of a goodness in spirit that can transcend any earthly force.”
He recalled the passengers and crew of Flight 93, who resisted the hijackers before the aircraft crashed in Pennsylvania. Trump specifically remembered passenger Todd Beamer, who recited the Lord’s Prayer before joining other passengers in attempting to retake the plane.
“And then he said his last words, ‘Let’s roll,’” Trump said.
“We remember the many lives lost on 9/11,” he continued. “We also give thanks for the countless lives saved by the immortal heroes of Flight 93.”
The president also recalled the extraordinary national unity that followed the attacks.
“We were all New Yorkers that day, every one of us,” Trump said. “But we were also all Americans. We were all family. We were all patriots.”
Trump pointed to the enormous American flag displayed from the Pentagon following the attack, with that same flag present again for Friday’s anniversary ceremony. He recognized firefighters Joseph Morabito, Scott Morgan and Karl Solberg, who helped raise it in 2001.
“The enemy might destroy what American hands had built, but they could not touch the fight and the fire and the love in our great American hearts,” Trump said.
Trump also honored the generations of U.S. military personnel who served during the wars and counterterrorism operations that followed Sept. 11.
“For 25 years, our best and bravest have kept America safe,” he said. “And today we salute every member of the United States military who served in the war on terror.”
The president then linked that continuing national-security mission to the current U.S. conflict with Iran.
“We salute the service members working right now to ensure the world’s number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, will never, ever have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. His reference to Iran was also noted during Friday’s Pentagon observance as the administration connected current military operations with its broader national-security message.
Trump devoted another portion of his remarks to New York City firefighter Timothy “Timmy” Stackpole, who suffered severe burns while battling a Brooklyn fire in 1998 but recovered and returned to the New York City Fire Department.
Stackpole was killed responding to the World Trade Center attacks three years later.
“The greatest high you can ever get in life is by helping someone and making a difference,” Trump quoted Stackpole as saying.
Trump recognized Stackpole’s widow, Tara, and their children, several of whom later entered military service or followed their father into public service.
“No one can ever prepare for a day like 9/11, but we can always choose to be the kind of nation the world saw in those days after,” Trump said.
“We can raise our children to know that their country is good, that their fathers are brave, and that our flag is a symbol of justice and freedom,” he added.
As the ceremony drew to a close, Trump contrasted the hatred that produced the attacks with what he described as the country’s ability to endure them.
“September 11th reminded us of the terrible power of hate,” Trump said. “The 25 years since have shown us the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail and to win.”
Trump said he believed Americans generations from now would continue honoring those killed and those who responded, even after everyone with a personal memory of Sept. 11 is gone.
“They will still honor the heroes of 9/11/2001, who no age will erase from the memory of time,” Trump said. “It will never, ever be forgotten. It will never be forgotten. And we can never forget.”
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