Harris pays tribute to 9/11 victims, first responders in Virginia

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), the Democratic vice presidential nominee, delivered a tribute to the victims of and first responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Friday.

Speaking at a memorial ceremony in Fairfax, Va., Harris said that the terrorist attacks served as a reminder of the country’s ability to unite in times of tragedy and crisis.  

“Let us also remember that honoring them is also about reminding us of who we are as Americans,” Harris said. “Because in times of tragedy, in times of despair, in times of suffering and pain, we, by our very nature as who we are, stand together. We stand together.”

Harris also spoke of those who died in the attacks 19 years ago, urging the country to remember them as more than victims.

“We remember that they were more than victims of an unspeakable act,” Harris said. “They were also parents and sons and daughters and neighbors and friends. And we know that they will never be defined by the story of those who stole them away.”

“No, they will be defined by their humanity, but their stories, but their laughter that still echoes in the homes and hearts of those who love them,” she added. 

Harris’s remarks came on the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, when 19 al Qaeda-linked terrorists carried out four coordinated attacks, crashing commercial airliners into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.

A fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers thwarted the hijackers.

The attacks were the deadliest in history, killing nearly 3,000 people and injuring tens of thousands. 

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden attended a ceremony at the World Trade Center memorial site in Manhattan earlier Friday morning.