Joe Biden recalls Queen’s message to the US after 9/11
Today marks 21 years since coordinated hijackers flew planes into the Twin Towers in New York and other sites, killing nearly 3,000 people.
It was the deadliest terror attack to ever take place on US soil, and each year is a solemn anniversary.
Today, President Joe Biden gave a speech to commemorate the day, saying ‘We will never forget. We will never forget.’
He also spoke of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday, recalling her words in the aftermath of the attacks.
‘I remember a message sent to the American people from Queen Elizabeth,’ he said.
‘It was on September 11. Her ambassador read a prayer at a service at St Thomas Church in New York, where she poignantly reminded us that “grief is the price we pay for love”.’
Repeating her words, he said: ‘Grief is the price we pay for love.
‘Many of us have experienced that grief, and you’ve all experienced it.
‘And on this day, when the price feels so great, Jill and I are holding all of you close to our hearts.’
‘I hope we’ll remember that amidst those dark days, we dug deep, we cared for each other, and we came together.’
At ground zero in New York, a tolling bell and moment of silence began the commemoration.
President Biden spoke and lay a wreath at the Pentagon, while first lady Jill Biden spoke in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of the hijacked planes went down after passengers and crew members tried to storm the cockpit as the hijackers headed for Washington.
The President was joined by family members of the victims and first responders who had been at the Pentagon on the day of the attack.
‘We owe you an incredible, incredible debt,’ he said.
Al-Qaida conspirators had seized control of the jets to use as missiles filled with passengers.
Vice president Kamala Harris and husband Doug Emhoff joined the observance at the National September 11 Memorial in New York, but by tradition, no political figures speak at the ground zero ceremony.
It centres instead on victims’ relatives reading aloud the names of the dead.
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