OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – One man’s job became one of the most important in the world on 9/11. That job was protecting the president.
Colonel Mark Tillman was the Air Force One pilot responsible for keeping President George W. Bush safe. He served as President Bush’s pilot from 2001 until 2009.
He was in Oshkosh last night to speak at EAA.
“We had to get the president from Sarasota, Florida back to Washington D.C.,” Tillman said about his duties on 9/11.
As they headed to D.C., another plane was en route. That was United’s hijacked Flight 93.
“The true heroes in my mind were the folks on that aircraft that took control of the aircraft,” Tillman said. “They saved countless lives in Washington D.C. by taking control of the aircraft, but unfortunately the aircraft did crash.”
As the president and Air Force One crew learned of the horrors that were unfolding, Tillman tells FOX 11 he was prepared to stay calm and serve his country.
“We had been highly trained, we were ready for all kinds of incidents in the United States. So we were ready for an incident similar to this, maybe not exactly this one, but the entire crew was ready to move. And the United States military came alive at that point.”
Tillman speaks about his experience as a presidential pilot on 9/11 for an important reason.
“My biggest worry about all of this is that America is going to forget about it. So that’s my only worry right now is that we’re gonna forget about everything that occurred to us, and we’re just gonna stand idle, and something is going to happen to us again.”
He hopes people can remember what the country was like on September 12th.
“America came together. Whether they were Democrat, Republican, it wasn’t a political thing. It was America coming together to be true Americans.”
Tillman said his message is simple: never be complacent, and never forget.
