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News4’s Mauricio Casillas has the moving tributes held in the D.C. region.
Tributes for the victims of 9/11 on the 21st anniversary of the terror attacks poured in across the D.C. area, including from President Joe Biden, the mayor of D.C., a man on a four-day mission to honor the flight crew who died on Flight 175 and a congregation at the National Cathedral.
In the morning, the president spoke about the importance of honoring the legacy of those we lost at the Pentagon, where the pain of the attack that killed 184 people is still fresh for so many.
“Twenty-one years is both a lifetime and no time at all,” Biden said at the somber wreath-laying ceremony.
The president spoke about grief as rain fell, and the sacrifice of first responders. While recognizing that so much was taken from the American people that day, Biden acknowledged that the country showed its strength.
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“What we will not change, what we cannot change and never will, is the character of this nation that the terrorists thought they could wound,” he said.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoed the statement.
“Terror will never destroy us,” he said. “It will never destroy the idea that is America."
D.C. Mayor Bowser and several D.C. Council members came together at a fire station in Northwest to honor the lives lost.
“The face of evil and terror impacted our lives and countless U.S. citizens, but through the face of terror, we demonstrate courage, determination and the will to fight for what we believe in,” she said.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – SEPTEMBER 11: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a ceremony commemorating the 21st anniversary of the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon during the September 11th terrorist attacks at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on September 11, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. The nation is marking the twenty-first anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, when the terrorist group al-Qaeda flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – SEPTEMBER 11: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a ceremony commemorating the 21st anniversary of the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon during the September 11th terrorist attacks at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on September 11, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. The nation is marking the twenty-first anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, when the terrorist group al-Qaeda flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
A relative of a person who died during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, mourns during a remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2022. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – SEPTEMBER 11: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a ceremony commemorating the 21st anniversary of the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon during the September 11th terrorist attacks at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on September 11, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. The nation is marking the twenty-first anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, when the terrorist group al-Qaeda flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
A US Navy service member holds onto a bell that he rings every time the name of a person who died at the Pentagon during the September 11, 2001 attacks is read, during a remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2022. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
A person wears a pin during a remembrance ceremony to mark the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2022. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – SEPTEMBER 11: People visit the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial before a ceremony commemorating the 21st anniversary of the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 in to the Pentagon during the September 11th terrorist attacks at the on September 11, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. The nation is marking the twenty-first anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, when the terrorist group al-Qaeda flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – SEPTEMBER 11: Members of the military and first responders bow their heads to pray before the unfurling of an American on the side of the Pentagon to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on September 11, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. Later today U.S. President Joe Biden will visit the Pentagon to participate in a wreath laying ceremony and give remarks to honor and remember the victims of the September 11th terror attack. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – SEPTEMBER 11: Members of the military and first responders stand in salute as an American flag is unfurled on the side of the Pentagon to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on September 11, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. Later today U.S. President Joe Biden will visit the Pentagon to participate in a wreath laying ceremony and give remarks to honor and remember the victims of the September 11th terror attack. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
Relatives of victims and other guests listen to the the US National Anthem during a remembrance ceremony to mark the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2022. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
A US Marine stands at attention during a remembrance ceremony to mark the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2022. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – SEPTEMBER 11: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a ceremony commemorating the 21st anniversary of the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon during the September 11th terrorist attacks at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on September 11, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. The nation is marking the twenty-first anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, when the terrorist group al-Qaeda flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – SEPTEMBER 11: U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the 21st anniversary of the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon during the September 11th terrorist attacks at the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on September 11, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. The nation is marking the twenty-first anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, when the terrorist group al-Qaeda flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – SEPTEMBER 11: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin gives remarks during a Pentagon 9/11 observance ceremony for the 21st anniversary of the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon during the September 11th terrorist attacks at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on September 11, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. The nation is marking the twenty-first anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, when the terrorist group al-Qaeda flew hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“There’s only one reason I did it, and there's still only one reason I’m doing it, it's to recognize these guys,” Veneto said.
During a special service held at the National Cathedral, there was a moment dedicated to thanking first responders — both those who died in the terror attacks and those who continue to put their lives on the line every day.
“Give us strength and courage to all first responders as they do the crucial work,” the congregation prayed.
Correction (Sept. 11, 2022 at 9:22 p.m. EST): This article has been updated to reflect that this is the 21st anniversary of 9/11.
