[Video below.] President Donald Trump singled out Shimmy Biegeleisen z”l, the 42-year-old Brooklyn father of five who was killed in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, as he paid tribute Friday to individual victims of the terror attacks during a solemn 25th-anniversary commemoration at the Pentagon. Trump recalled that Biegeleisen was on the 97th floor of the South Tower and surrounded by photographs of his five children when the building came down. Records and memorial sources identify Biegeleisen as a vice president at Fiduciary Trust International who was killed at the World Trade Center.

Trump delivered the remarks at a ceremony honoring the 184 people killed when American Airlines Flight 77 was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

Opening on a somber note, Trump commemorated all 2,977 victims who were killed in the coordinated attacks in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, reflecting on the magnitude of the loss a quarter-century later.

The President recalled several of the children who were aboard American Airlines Flight 77, among them three 11-year-old students traveling on a school trip. He also remembered sisters Zoe Falkenberg, 8, and Dana Falkenberg, 3, who were traveling with their parents. Trump then recounted the fate of a group of Pentagon colleagues who had gathered for a sergeant major’s dinner party the weekend before the attack: “Every person at that sergeant major’s party was murdered by terrorists who flew Flight 77 straight into this legendary building.”

“Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago. We will never, ever forget,” the president said. “That’s why we fight today. We don’t have a choice. There can only be victory. We fight hard, we fight to win. We will always remember the victims and the families of September 11th, 2001.”

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Trump proceeded to recount the stories of individual victims whose lives ended that morning. Among them was Patrick Danahy, 35, who was working on the 90th floor of the South Tower. After the North Tower was hit, Danahy telephoned his pregnant wife, Mary, told her he was safe and urged her not to watch television. She later watched as the second plane struck the South Tower and the building collapsed with her husband still inside. Their youngest daughter was born exactly one month later, on October 11.

Trump then turned to the story of Shimmy Biegeleisen, who was 42 and working on the 97th floor of the South Tower. The Brooklyn resident and father of five was killed when the tower collapsed. Trump described Biegeleisen as being surrounded by photographs of his five children in his final moments.

“Free people must never avert their eyes from such hideous cruelty. We cannot forget that moment of immense and horrible evil that took place in this world, bent on the destruction of all that is good,” Trump stated.

“But this morning, we also remember how America responded to that wickedness,” he continued. “On days like 9-11, we learn what a country is truly made of. We’re learning right now what we’re made of and we have to be strong and we have to be smart. And Americans are made of a goodness spirit that can transcend any earthly force.”

The President also revisited the heroism aboard United Airlines Flight 93, whose passengers and crew fought back after realizing the plane had been hijacked as part of the wider attack. Trump recalled a flight attendant boiling water to use against the hijackers and spoke about Todd Beamer, the 31-year-old New Jersey passenger who asked a telephone operator in Illinois to join him in The Lord’s Prayer before uttering his now-famous final words — “Let’s roll” — as passengers moved to retake the cockpit. Their actions prevented the plane from reaching its intended target, and it crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

“In those harrowing days after the attacks, we saw the authentic spirit of our nation. We were all New Yorkers that day, every one of us,” President Trump said.

Trump also highlighted the massive American flag that became a symbol of the Pentagon’s resilience in the immediate aftermath of the attack. On September 12, 2001, General James Jackson ordered the largest flag in the military’s collection to be displayed beside the damaged portion of the Pentagon. During Friday’s ceremony, Trump asked those assembled to stand in recognition of the flag and the three firefighters who originally raised it: Joseph Morabito, Scott Morgan and Carl Sahlberg.

“In the generation since 9-11 American sons and daughters have traveled to the darkest corners of the earth and done battle with a shadowy enemy so that our children might once again know carefree days in cloudless skies,” said Trump. “For 25 years, our best and bravest have kept America safe, and today we salute every member of the United States military who served in the war on terror.”

“A generation after 9-11, we also know that the final response to those atrocities and the ultimate victory over the perpetrators will not be found on a foreign battlefield,” Trump remarked while also recognizing current American service members involved in efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear capability.

The President additionally paid tribute to FDNY Captain Timothy Stackpole, a father of five who had endured years of grueling rehabilitation after suffering severe burns over 40% of his body in a five-alarm fire in 1998. Stackpole had returned to full duty and was promoted to captain shortly before September 11. Although he was off duty on the morning of the attacks, he rushed to the World Trade Center to help and was killed when the South Tower collapsed.

“As scripture tells us, the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it,” said the commander-in-chief. “September 11th reminded us of the terrible power of hate. The 25 years since have shown us the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail and to win.”

{Matzav.com}