In a ceremonial speech this morning at the Pentagon commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Donald Trump remembered the victims and highlighted America’s strength in overcoming adversity.
“On that fateful day, savage monsters attacked the very symbols of our civilization. Yet here in Virginia and in New York, and in the skies over Pennsylvania, Americans did not hesitate,” Trump said. “They stood on their feet, and they showed the world that we will never yield, we will never bend, we will never give up, and our great American flag will never, ever fail.”
The ceremony at the Pentagon honored 184 service members and civilians who were killed when hijackers steered a plane into the building. Trump publicly honored two men present at the ceremony: Army Sgt. First Class Steve Workman, who risked his life to save others at the Pentagon, and Army Second Lt. Luke Taylor, son of Army Lt. Col. Kip Taylor, who died when the plane crashed into his office. Taylor died just a few weeks before his son was born.
“The spitting image of his dad, Luke says that every time he puts on the uniform, he feels connected to his father and to our country, but it was a father he never knew,” Trump said. “Luke, your parents are together in heaven, and they could not be prouder of the man that they have produced.”
Trump shared vignettes of several men and women who died in the attacks, including Chuck Costello, an elevator mechanic and Knight of Columbus who lost his life in the World Trade Center trying to rescue people trapped inside. Trump said that after his death, Costello’s widow discovered a prayer that he had written: “Help me to light the way for those in the dark, and when I enter the darkness, let me not panic, but patiently wait to remember the light.”
Trump added that in memory of the victims of the attacks, “we make a solemn pledge and a noble promise: we will honor — always — our great heroes.”
“We will defend the nation they served, the values they upheld, and the freedom for which they died,” he promised. “We will support our troops, we will protect our families, and we will preserve the American way of life for every future generation. We will build taller, grow stronger, fight harder, and soar higher. And together, we will go forward as one people with one heart, one fate, one flag, and one glorious destiny under one Almighty God.”
In addition to commemorating the victims, the President honored Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed Sept. 10 during a college event. As CatholicVote reported, Trump announced that he will posthumously award Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.