Former President George W. Bush will speak at the site where United Flight 93 crashed on 9/11 during ceremonies recognizing the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
“President George W. Bush will deliver remarks at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA on Saturday morning, September 11, 2021 to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of 9/11,” Fox News producer Pat Ward tweeted Monday morning.
Bush spoke at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2011 during dedication of a memorial at the site where Flight 93 crashed following an onboard struggle to thwart hijackers who had seized the plane.
“What happened above this Pennsylvania field was among the most courageous acts in American history,” Bush told a crowd that day.
“For as long as this memorial stands, we will remember what the men and women aboard the plane did here. We’ll pay tribute to the courage they showed, the sacrifice they made, and the lives they spared.”
The Flight 93 National Memorial website said the annual Sept. 11 observance will begin at 9:45 a.m. local time on Saturday.
At 10:03 a.m. – the moment Flight 93 crashed – the names of the passengers and crew members will be read, the Bells of Remembrance will be rung in their memory, and a wreath will be placed at the Wall of Names.
At the conclusion of the wreath laying, the ceremonial gate to the crash site will be opened and family members will walk out to the crash site.
President Bush was in office when the 9/11 attacks occurred at the World Trade Center in New York City and at the Pentagon.
United Airlines Flight 93 was one of four aircraft hijacked that day. It was the only plane not to hit its intended target – in Washington, D.C., either the White House or the Capitol – and crashed after the plane’s passengers attempted to regain control of the aircraft away from the hijackers.
NBC News reported earlier this month that about 1,800 Americans directly impacted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks called on President Joe Biden to skip the 20th anniversary events in New York and Pennsylvania unless he releases documents they believe may reveal a link between Saudi Arabian leaders and the attacks.
Reuters contributed to this story.
