On Friday, President Joe Biden urged Americans to demonstrate unity, which he described as "our greatest strength," on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In a White House video, Biden stated, "For me, the main lesson from 9/11 is that, even in our darkest moments, amidst the struggle... and the fight for the soul of America, unity is our greatest strength." He added, "Unity does not mean that we have to believe the same thing, but we must have a basic respect and faith in one another and in this nation."
In the recorded message, Biden honored the victims of the attacks, the thousands who were injured, as well as members of firefighting teams, nursing staff, and others who risked their lives or lost their lives during the rescue and recovery efforts following the attacks.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are scheduled to visit the three sites of the 9/11 attacks on Saturday: in New York, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania. Notably, on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, hijackers took control of four planes flying over the eastern United States simultaneously. They used the planes as massive guided missiles, crashing two into the Twin Towers in New York, while the third struck the western facade of the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
A total of 2,977 people lost their lives in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, and the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania without reaching its intended target.
