WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) ─ Nineteen years later, Americans continue to remember 9/11 with tributes to the many lives lost in the devastating terrorist attacks.
From Shanksville, Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump honored the memory of those who lost their lives on United Flight 93.
“The men and women of Flight 93 were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives … nothing could’ve prepared them for the dreadful events that morning,” Trump said.
He reflected on how the 40 passengers saved countless lives by fighting back against the hijackers.
“Forty towering patriots rose up, took charge and made their stand,” he said.
Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-New York, said one of his constituents was on that flight.
“You have to think about the heroism of those passengers on that plane,” Brindisi said. “But for their actions, we would’ve had a second attack on Washington, D.C., perhaps on the Capitol.”
Rep. Brian Higgins, D-New York, remembers visiting Ground Zero days after the attack.
“It was devastation,” he recalled. “America was attacked.”
He called the experience “surreal.”
“We were walking in what was about six inches of what we know now to be toxic dust,” he said. “That was just from the pulverized buildings, paper, whatever.”
Brindisi said although the nation is divided, he is optimistic Americans can find ways to join forces against the coronavirus pandemic.
“Let’s come out of this united like we were back after 9/11,” Brindisi said.
Higgins agreed, saying, “we should all try to be better sons and daughters of our country and of the nation.”
Most importantly, both lawmakers urged Americans to never forget the sacrifice of the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that day.