Mike Pence: Flight 93 Heroes Saved My Life

VP recalls 'longest 12 minutes of my life' on 9/11 anniversary
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 11, 2017 12:19 PM CDT
Mike Pence: Flight 93 Heroes Saved My Life
A man pays his respects at the Wall of Names at the United Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa.   (AP Photo/Fred Vuich)

VP Mike Pence paid homage to the "heroes of Flight 93" Monday during a ceremony in Shanksville, Pa., but his speech had an unusually personal note: He thinks the passengers who brought down the plane on Sept. 11, 2001, saved his life. Pence recalled being a new member of Congress when news broke of the attack on the World Trade Center. He went to Capitol Police headquarters, where the chief took a phone call and then informed everyone that a commandeered plane was headed for the Capitol and was just 12 minutes out. "So we waited," he said, per Business Insider. "It was the longest 12 minutes of my life. But it turned to 13 minutes. Then 14. Then we were informed that the plane had gone down in a field in Pennsylvania."

Pence says he owes a debt to those who stormed the cabin that he doesn't think he'll be able to repay, reports the Washington Examiner. "I will always believe that I, and many others in our nation's capital, were able to get home that day to hug our families because of the courage and selflessness of the heroes of Flight 93." Earlier in the day, President Trump observed a moment of silence at the White House, then spoke at the Pentagon on the 16th anniversary of the attacks. "The terrorists who attacked us thought they could incite fear and weaken our spirit," Trump said, per the AP. "But America cannot be intimidated and those who try will join a long list of vanquished enemies who dared test our mettle." (More Mike Pence stories.)

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