John Mica: “In my view, all the victims who gave their lives on September 11 are American heroes. Of course, much attention has been…”

“In my view, all the victims who gave their lives on September 11 are American heroes. Of course, much attention has been rightfully focused on the heroes that took heroic actions in the World Trade Center and also in the Pentagon. But, Mr. Speaker, the passengers of United Flight 93 deserve special recognition. As the fourth plane hijacked on that day, the passengers, unfortunately, knew the fate that awaited them. Rather than accept that fate, however, the passengers of Flight 93 acted. We know they courageously fought back against the terrorists. While they did not succeed in saving the aircraft or their own lives, they were able to prevent hijackers from achieving their horrible objectives. In that process, Mr. Speaker, they lost their lives, and they lost their lives conducting heroic actions. While we may never confirm the targets of those terrorists, we know they were headed, in fact, to Washington and, more than likely, this very Capitol building. The heroic actions of the passengers and crew of Flight 93 saved many lives.”