WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, honored victims and first responders of the 9/11 terror attacks during a ceremony in the Pentagon courtyard.
On September 11, 2001, 184 victims lost their lives after five Al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 from nearby Dulles International Airport and crashed the Boeing 757 into the Pentagon's west wall.
Trump noted early in his remarks that construction of the Pentagon began on September 11, 1941, exactly 60 years prior to the attacks.
'Exactly six decades later . those same walls built with the sweat, muscle [and] blood of our parents and grandparents were scarred by flame and shaken by terror, as our country came face to face with pure evil,' Trump said, adding that the terrorists 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; 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,' Trump said.
Trump wrapped up his remarks by reaffirming support for the nation's troops, its families and the American way of life.
'We will build taller, grow stronger, fight harder and soar higher,' he said.
'And together, we will go forward as one people with one heart, one faith, one flag and one glorious destiny under almighty God.'
During his remarks, Hegseth spoke highly of the U.S. military and all it has accomplished and endured since 9/11.
Speaking of the Pentagon attack, Hegseth described how first responders 'ran toward the chaos' to care for the injured and comfort the dying, despite being vastly outnumbered by the victims.
'It was bedlam, but in that moment, American heroism was laid bare. That purpose - that spirit - lives on in uniform today,' he said.
Thursday's ceremony, which began with a reading of all 184 victims' names, followed a sunrise unfurling of a large American flag on the Pentagon's west wall.
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