“Obviously, the words I used with the president were grave words,” Card said. “When you say America is under attack, that’s a pretty serious comment to tell the person responsible for protecting the country. So I knew the situation was serious – grave – and that there were a lot of things unknown. But nevertheless, I tried to be very, very deliberate and focused and cool, calm and collected.”
By the time they boarded Air Force One, the attack on the Pentagon had occurred, and United Airlines Flight 93 was heading towards Washington, D.C.
“We were going through all those emotions,” Card recounted.
At 9:37AM, Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.
At 10:02AM, Flight 93 – where passengers had started to fight back against the hijackers – crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
As a result of the attacks, 2,977 innocent people lost their lives – with thousands more injured. Over the last 23 years, hundreds more have died as a result of health implications that were the direct result of the 9/11 attacks.
We must never forget.
