Vice President Mike Pence used today’s 9/11 anniversary to honor the fallen heroes of flight 93 in a tearful speech of gratitude.
16 years ago to the day, one of the fatal acts of terrorism occurred on American soil after four planes were hijacked on September 11, 2001. All four planes had intended government targets that included the world trade centers, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Capitol and sadly the lives of every passenger were lost. However one of the planes never reached the intended target as the Americans aboard decided to stand up against the hijackers in an attempt to save the lives of everyone located at the target building. This particular plane was heading for the U.S. Capitol but never made it thanks to the heroic actions of three brave passengers. Although the passengers perished in the fiery crash the lives of U.S. representatives and anyone else attending the Capitol address was spared which includes the life of now VP Mike Pence.
Mike Pence spent today visiting the crash site in order to pay homage to the heroes of flight 93 and make it known that without their actions he wouldn’t have ever been presented with the opportunity to the Vice President of the United States of America.
As the passengers rushed the cockpit, the terrorist made the decision to crash the plane instead of facing the fury of the Americans on board. No one survived when the plane went down, exploding in a ball of flames in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
There is no doubt that the heroism of those on Flight 93 saved the lives of countless others. Vice President Mike Pence counts himself among the lives that were saved by the actions of those passengers. In a tearful, gripping, and emotional address this morning at the same spot where the plane went down, Pence recalls how these brave Americans literally saved his own life. Pence said:
“I’m also here to pay a debt of gratitude to the heroes of Flight 93 on a much more personal basis. For their actions on that day in these skies saved American lives and as my wife, Karen, who joins me here today knows, it’s a debt I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay. Because among the many lives that were saved by their selfless courage, they might well have saved my own life that day 16 years ago.”
The vice president told the story about how, upon visiting the wreckage a year after, he asked a park ranger what the intended target of Flight 93 was:
“I asked her if the U.S. Capitol was, in fact, the target, what time would the plane have reached the Capitol building? And what she told me I’ll never forget. For at the time she said standing with hundreds of others, I was standing near the east front of the House of Representatives. I will always believe that I and many others in our nation’s capital were able to go home that day to hug our families because of the courage and selflessness of the heroes of Flight 93. So for me it’s personal. And I speak on behalf of a grateful nation.”
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