WASHINGTON – Paying tribute to the victims of 9/11, President Donald Trump gave special honor Tuesday to the passengers who charged the cockpit of their plane to stop hijackers from attacking Washington, D.C.

“They attacked the enemy,” Trump said on the Pennsylvania field where United Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001. “They stopped the forces of terror, and defeated this wicked, horrible, evil plan.”

Trump also vowed to protect the nation against what he called “radical Islamic terrorism.”

As bells tolled and Americans stood in silence across the country, the president and first lady Melania Trump visited the the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pa.

The ceremony came two days after the dedication of a new “Tower of Voices.” Built at 93 feet, the tower featured 40 wind chimes, each representing a passenger on the doomed flight.

As at ceremonies at the World Trade Center in New York City and at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., mourners in Pennsylvania read off the names of the dead as bells tolled and visitors prayed.

Trump devoted most of his remarks to the passengers of Flight 93.

After hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, some 40 passengers and crew aboard United Airlines Flight 93 – believed to be headed to the U.S. Capitol building or the White House – organized a charge into the cockpit to confront their captors.

Amid the ensuing fight, which started with the phrase “Let’s roll,” the plane crashed into a field in Somerset County, north of Shanksville.

Trump described the revolt as “the moment America fought back,” and that the Flight 93 passengers joined “the immortal ranks” of heroes for freedom.

“This field is now a monument to American defiance,” Trump said. “This memorial is now a message to the world: America will never, ever submit to tyranny.”

Vice President Pence attended a ceremony at the Pentagon, saying he wanted to “pay a debt of honor and remembrance.” Pence said the nation must heed the lessons of 9/11, and “remain ever vigilant in defense of our nation.”

Previous presidents also made statements on the 9/11 anniversary.

Saying the nation would never forget the victims or the first responders, President Barack Obama said on Twitter that “there’s nothing our resilience and resolve can’t overcome, and no act of terror can ever change who we are.”

Trump began the 9/11 anniversary day with tweets underscoring his complaints about the FBI, the Department of Justice and the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

Trump also tweeted about the 17th anniversary of 9/11, including a post praising then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani – now one of his attorneys in the Russia investigation.

For Trump, the 9/11 commemoration offered a role that he has not regularly embraced, that of consoler-in-chief.
Earlier this month, as both Obama and Bush delivered eulogies for the late Sen. John McCain, pundits compared their speaking styles to that of Trump, who has drawn criticism for what detractors call an overly divisive tone when speaking at somber events.