Within the span of 1 hour 16 minutes on the morning of September 11, 2001, George W. Bush became a wartime president. He guided the nation through the dark uncertain days following the 9/11 attacks and sought to avenge America by going to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
On Saturday, this former wartime president commemorated those lost in the 9/11 attacks and the changes the nation has undergone in the two decades since. Bush delivered a speech at the 9/11 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 went down.
“Twenty years ago, we all found – in different ways, in different places, but all at the same moment – that our lives would be changed forever,” Bush said, reflecting on the lasting impact of that day.
On September 11, 2001, then President Bush was sitting in a classroom in Florida reading to children when the first of four hijacked planes flew into the World Trade Centers in New York. On September 11, 2021, he recounted for those too young to recall, the “hard to describe” mix of feelings people experienced that clear September day.
“There was horror at the scale of destruction, and awe at the bravery and kindness that rose to meet it,” he said. “There was shock at the audacity of evil, and gratitude for the heroism and decency that opposed it. In the sacrifice of the first responders, in the mutual aid of strangers, in the solidarity of grief and grace, the actions of an enemy revealed the spirit of a people. And we were proud of our wounded nation.”
In his remarks, the former president paid tribute to the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 who fought back against their hijackers. Their actions, the 9-11 Commission determined, forced the hijackers to crash the plane in the field in Pennsylvania instead of their intended target in Washington D.C.
The actions of those 33 passengers and 7 crew members in the skies above Pennsylvania saved an untold number of lives.
“Here the intended targets became the instruments of rescue. And many who are now alive owe a vast, unconscious debt to the defiance displayed in the skies above this field,” Bush said.
In the twenty years since the attacks, much has changed in America. Bush addressed some of those profound “adjustments” as he spoke of continued security threats the nation faces, both from without and within.
“There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit. And it is our continuing duty to confront them,” he said.
Addressing the nation’s deep political divide, Bush offered no explanations or solutions but did offer a hopeful vision of the America he saw twenty years ago.
“On America’s day of trial and grief, I saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor’s hand and rally to the cause of one another. That is the America I know.
At a time when religious bigotry might have flowed freely, I saw Americans reject prejudice and embrace people of Muslim faith. That is the nation I know.
At a time when nativism could have stirred hatred and violence against people perceived as outsiders, I saw Americans reaffirm their welcome of immigrants and refugees. That is the nation I know.
At a time when some viewed the rising generation as individualistic and decadent, I saw young people embrace an ethic of service and rise to selfless action. That is the nation I know.
This is not mere nostalgia; it is the truest version of ourselves. It is what we have been – and what we can be again.”
The former wartime president closed his speech with a tribute to the 40 passengers and crew of Flight 93 saying “whenever we need hope and inspiration, we can look to the skies and remember.”
READ: Full transcript of former President George W. Bush’s speech
