Remembering 9/11

0:00Every day, animals across the country face abuse and neglect. And every day, the ASPCA shows up to rescue animals in crisis. But they can't do it alone. Visit ASPCA.org slash need. Become a donor today to provide the care and shelter these animals urgently need. And for a limited time, the ASPCA will send you a free gift as a special thank you. Visit ASPCA.org slash need. the holidays are busy enough getting your home ready shouldn't be from the perfect tree and twinkling lights to festive decor for inside and out wayfair has everything you need to get your home holiday ready find furniture hosting essentials festive serveware and more all in one place so you can spend less time getting ready and more time enjoying the season with the people who make it special shop wayfair.com today to make holiday magic at home Way fair, every style, every home.

1:07Good evening from lower Manhattan. At the end of a clear blue gentle September day, almost identical to the one 25 years ago. Across the street behind me is the National 9-11 Memorial Museum and the footprints of the Twin Towers, which much of a look striking. The late summer light that morning, but there was no real reason for anyone to take much notice because it wasn't a special morning that day, just a nice one. On the next block is 10 House. It's home to the New York Fire Department's Engine and Ladder Company 10. People have been gathering there all day and are gathering there now into the evening.

1:41On September 11th, the day tour was about to start just the same as any other day until it was not the same. Then nothing was.

1:57Today at 8.46 a.m. for the 24th time since that day, a bell was rung at ground zero to mark the exact moment American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower. Then again at 9.03 for when United Flight 175 hit the South Tower.

2:23At 9.37, the bell rang again to mark American Flight 77's impact at the Pentagon and four times more with moments after each for United Flight 93's crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The fall of the towers and for the first time this year to remember the thousands who have died in the 25 years since from exposure to toxic dust. Almost 3 ,000 men, women, children were killed on the day itself. The first recorded fatality was Father Michael Judge, a New York Fire Department chaplain. 343 firefighters lost their lives, six from House 10 behind me. They and other first responders saved so many lives, however, getting some 17 ,000 people to safety out of those towers before the towers came down.

3:11But even as they did, and we certainly remember that tonight, we also remember the ambulances that waited on the streets behind us here for the waves of injured who never came, only the dead. Sometimes one by one, day after day, each bringing the kind of pain that New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani anticipated just hours after the first plane hit. He spoke to New Yorkers and the country in a way that's hard to forget even now. Today is obviously one of the most difficult days in the history of the city and the country. The tragedy that we're all undergoing right now is something that we've had nightmares about.

3:49The number of casualties will be more than any of us can bear ultimately.

3:58Well, today, 25 years later, at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, Shanksville, children who lost parents that day are now parents themselves. Firefighters who lost comrades that day now have kids on the job. Soldiers who fought and lost buddies in the wars that followed are veterans today. The presidents and lawmakers who gathered today who were in office on 9-11, and the years since then have now had a quarter century to reflect on the challenges they confronted and the world their decisions for better and for worse ushered in. There's no such thing as closure. It's a word too often used that has no meaning.

4:33A door never closes on the pain felt by so many families, and it never closes on the love they feel for those they lost on this day and so many days since. Just a half hour from now, a quarter century ago, this network and every major network was going live to the White House for this. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. Today our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature.

5:23And we responded with the best of America, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could. As we mentioned, the seventh bell was added to the 9-11 memorial this year to honor the thousands of first responders and other survivors who have since died from illnesses related to the attack.

6:11Joining me now is John Field, a 9-11 first responder who works as a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero and has been a longtime advocate for other first responders who've developed chronic and at times fatal health problems related to the attacks during September 11th. He's also the author of the new book, I Will Follow You Anywhere, the true story of the 9-11 responders who took on Congress. And boy, did you. Thank you so much for being here. First of all, what is it like for you to be here today to see and to hear that seventh bell? You know, Anderson, this was a rough week just leading up to today, physically, mentally, emotionally for so many people.

6:44But to hear that seventh bell, I think that was the floodgates opening where a lot of us cried and embraced. And that bell gives the 9-11 community that didn't perish on 9-11 from senseless violence and those heroes that ran into harm's way and never went home. But that bell gives us validity. And I think now the 9-11 community is complete. And we're now one. But it represents the past, the present, and the future, because so many people got sick and died. So many are sick and dying now, and so many are going to die in the future. And I think the 9-11 Memorial Museum, they got it right by adding it this year.

7:28We also learned this week, the mayor released tens of thousands, more than 100 ,000 documents, that city officials back then knew the air quality was as bad as many people worried it might be. even though they gave assurances time and time again. So I was at the press conference. I've seen those documents. There's no smoking gun in there. But what Mayor Mandami did was,

7:56I want to say he did what the other four administrations wouldn't and gave transparency. But what bothers me and what bothers everybody that went to D.C. with me is if they would have came clean in the beginning, maybe 9 ,700 people wouldn't be dead. Maybe it would only be 4 ,200. There's 57 ,000 people in the World Trade Center Health Program right now with a certified cancer. Maybe only 23 ,000 would have cancer. 57 ,000 people. Yeah, out of 155 ,000 enrolled in the program. You know, maybe they could have said, you know what, the air isn't that safe. The water's not that safe. Let's not put those students back in the 14 schools in the geographic map that they considered toxic.

8:36Maybe let's not open Wall Street six days later. Let's not force these people to go back to their apartments where their windowsills, their refrigerators were covered with dust. They were eating it. They were sleeping in it. You know, shame on the Giuliani administration because they knew. They knew better and shame on them. When you were down here, can you just talk about those days? Because, I mean, it stuns me. Like, when I was a kid, you know, you'd see World War II veterans. And I remember talking to them because I was a big buff of history. and their kind of sadness that all these young people didn't know.

9:09And now we're growing up at a time when there's a lot of kids today and young people who don't have the memory of being here. That's been asked a lot today. And I was born 25 years after Pearl Harbor, 1966. I'm not going to fault anybody for being born after 9-11. That's not their fault. But, you know, whenever there's an historic event, man-made, Mother Nature, terrorist, those horrible events, the American people step up and join first responders in responding to that disaster while the federal government is slow in responding. And then what happens? Advocacy is born. And I pray the younger generation, when this does happen, and it will happen, that they challenge their government, question their leadership, their morals, their humanity, their empathy, and make sure that they're doing the right thing by those who ran into harm's way.

10:01I was living in Chelsea when it happened, and I just remember the memorials, the ritual spaces, morning spaces, outside firehouses. I remember being in a restaurant, and some firefighters walked in for some food, and everybody stood up, and we all applauded. It was such an incredible time in the city. You know, at the initial shock, at the initial awe of being attacked over the greatest country in the world, and then we witnessed that horror, that carnage, that destruction, that devastation. On September 12th, we put it all aside, all our ideologies, our skin colors, our religions, and we came together as one.

10:46We weren't Americans, we were human beings. And the true sense of, the true meaning of being a human being is to give it to yourself, and we gave of ourselves. And I pray today, tomorrow, and moving forward, we find that humanity again. I've lived the last 25 years like that. I'm not going to conform because everybody finger points or you don't fit someone's narrative and they're going to dismiss you so quickly. Never going to take no for an answer when human life is at stake. We need to value human life again because we don't value it like we used to. John, it's really an honor to talk to you as always.

11:19Thank you, sir. Much appreciate it. Thank you. When we come back, the New York Fire Commissioner, who was in the North Tower lobby as the South Tower fell, who lost 343 of his firefighters that day, moved back with more from Ground Zero. Today, we've had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country.

11:47When an intruder approaches a home, they expect a camera. What they don't expect. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way. Using smart AI cameras, live U.S.-based agents help deter intruders in under 30 seconds. Don't just record a break-in. Stop it from ever happening. Plan starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 70 % off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com slash Spotify. 30 seconds response time requires monitoring plan with outdoor protection starting at$49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. When you're building a company, you learn that trust is what closes deals.

12:21You may have the best product, but buyers won't sign without proof that your product is secure, especially if it has AI. Vanta gets you compliant fast with SOC 2, ISO 27001, and more, and keeps you secure with continuous monitoring. Hyperbound, a YC-backed startup, used Vanta to unlock the Fortune 100 in under a year. Snowfire got audit ready in a month and closed a multi-million dollar deal. Trust matters. Get started at Vanta.com.

12:49I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.

13:08This is President George W. Bush three days after the attacks 25 years ago down here at Ground Zero. Joining us now is Thomas von Essen, who is the New York City Fire Commissioner on September 11th. He spent three decades with the department before becoming commissioner, started training in 1970. Spent much of his career in the Bronx, the South Bronx. He arrived on the scene just minutes after the first plane hit. He was standing in the lobby of the North Tower when the second plane struck the South Tower. Commissioner, I appreciate you being with us. I talked with Chief Joseph Pfeiffer about being in that lobby of the North Tower.

13:40From your perspective, can you just talk about what those early moments were like when you got there? Yeah, I got there pretty quick and we thought it was a small plane and when I got in the lobby We knew the chiefs told me the chiefs are as good as you get Fire chiefs from anywhere and they knew right away that it was a large commercial jet Some of the guys get up there quickly in elevators and after that you have to walk up because you don't want to put Anybody anybody in an elevator, but they realized it was an awful lot of fuel tremendous impact we weren't going to be able to put the fire out so the situation just evolved and just got worse, especially when the second plane hit.

14:23When that second plane struck the South Tower, did you know right away what was happening? Because Chief Pfeiffer was saying to me, I mean, it went kind of black, there was smoke and debris in the lobby, and he heard the sound but didn't know the tower had come down right away. Did you know? Yeah, well, I was standing at the command post there in the North Tower, and one of the guys came running in and they said, Boss, the South Tower was hit, the Sears Tower was hit, and the Mall of America was hit. And we were like, oh my God. Up to that point, we didn't know what we were in, but it was a beautiful, beautiful, clear day.

15:05So once we heard all that, we knew that we were in some kind of a military operation. and was going to be way past our capabilities. They took all the leadership or half the leadership from the North Tower, sent them to the South Tower. And I often say that Ray Downey, who was the biggest expert you'd find in the United States about collapse, we sent him to the South Tower. And he said to me on the way out, he said, Boss, you know, these buildings can come down. But I know in my heart that he meant sometime today, three, four, five, six hours, if these buildings are going to burn all day, they're going to come down.

15:39not in 102 minutes, which I think was nothing. There was no fire chief, no expert anywhere who could have predicted both buildings coming down that quickly.

15:53You came here this morning. What was it like for you on this 25th anniversary? You know, it's normally horrible. I go every year, stay till the end with May of Bloomberg. But today was especially horrible. I think because of the extra angst we had this year with the information that John was talking about being put out, the 25th anniversary, the additional people getting sick, it's just so much that made it that much worse this year than normal. But it's always painful to me because to me it's always been about the families and the firefighters that I miss so much.

16:39You ordered oral histories to be taken from the firefighters and medics who were on the scene that day, which I think is such an interesting thing and a wise thing that you did to preserve the oral history from the people on the front lines. Why was that so important to you at the time? You know, it was probably a week or 10 days. I don't remember how soon it really sank into me that it was going to be such a life-changing event for so many people. I certainly was not smart enough to know that, you know, everybody around the world would now be going to airport security because of what happened to us that day.

17:18But I knew it was a major world-changing kind of situation, and I wanted to make sure that we got accurate information. I know how it works with unions and lawyers and everybody else and advocates and people who all have a different view of this, of how imperfect people are, decisions that get made in the haste of chaos like that. But I knew if the firefighters were asked sooner than later, we'd be getting good, accurate information. And to me, you can't fix something if you don't get good, accurate information with people who are willing to take it on and fix it. Richard Von Essen, I really appreciate your time today.

17:57I know it's been a long day for you. Thank you so much. You're welcome, Ben. Thank you. When we come back, a photographer who documented this day as our special 360 coverage continues. Robert Penninger. Richard L. Penny. And my dad, Thomas R. Clark. We love you, we miss you, and we promise to never forget. May God bless you all. And my grandfather, Liam Callahan. We love you and we will continue to honor you and keep your memory alive.

18:33Traditional home security only alerts you after a break-in. And that's too late. SimpliSafe is changing that. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way. We don't just alert. We help stop crime before it starts. Plan starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 70 % off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com slash Spotify. SimpliSafe, ahead of crime in real time. Outdoor deterrence plans start at$49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information.

19:07It was an incredible scene. We saw people that just ran out of their shoes, out of their house. And when the debris came down, a lot of people were caught outside. The smoke got into their system. They were coughing, having a tough time breathing. At 8.55 in the morning of 9.11, Aristide Akonemopoulos, who was then a photojournalist from the Newark Star-Ledger, got a call from his assignment editor that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. He grabbed his camera, quickly made his way to the ferry, and that's when the second plane hit. Aristide immediately started taking photos. Shortly after arriving in Lower Manhattan, the Twin Towers fell.

19:43He spent the day risking his life documenting the aftermath of the worst attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor. His images from that day are extraordinary. They're haunting. They capture the chaos, the fear, the grief of that September morning 25 years ago. Aristide Cunemopoulos joins me now. Thank you so much for being with us. Does it feel like 25 years? What did you feel today? Today I had a lot of mixed feelings. Yeah, no, it doesn't feel like 25 years. You know, it just feels like yesterday and a bad memory, too. And I'm doing a lot better. I've gone through a lot, especially this past year.

20:22You were diagnosed with prostate cancer. In May, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I had surgery in July. Do you think it's from down here? Definitely. And with that, though, the surgery was very successful, and hopefully it will be cancer-free. some of the photos there's a photo of you running with the tower essentially collapsing behind you can you just talk about that? I'm photographing this is after the first tower fell and I hear this metallic groaning sound I'm on Church Street you're showing the picture right now I'm on Church Street right across from it and I just hear this groaning and it just starts splintering and I just start running the fastest I ever have in my life and I see another photographer Joe Tabaka and he's actually the guy who took the picture of me.

21:08We dived by a bus. The bus gets smooshed in half. That saved our lives. Wow. And there's another photo, like a self-portrait you took. So I'm photographing in the Chase Bank on Broadway. And a lot of people are upset there. It's really dramatic. This is it, we're going to show. They go to me, and they're like, are you all right? Well, why don't you wash off the bathroom? So I turn on the water, cup my hands, and then I look in the mirror, and I was just shocked when I saw him. Dropped the water, and this was before selfies, but I documented, and what bothered me is, like, why do I have this crazy smile?

21:47I had just outrun a 110-story building, and I was happy to be alive, but I definitely... I mean, it gives you a sense, and people who were here, they were ingesting all that debris, they were ingesting that lead, I mean, it got inside you. Luckily, I was only exposed for four hours, but people who were exposed even shorter have gone sick and died. What else stands out to you from that day? What moments? To me, there's one picture which means a lot. We're in the lobby of 2 John Street, and I was photographing outside, and then the first tower fell, and I ran into this lobby for shelter, and I hear these voices, and you're first a human being.

22:30So I go outside and say, come to my voice. so there's about a half a dozen people there and I have a picture of these ladies hugging and she's screaming, oh my god, we're alive, we're alive oh my god, we're alive and I'm just thinking, low light just hold your camera steady and then she asked me, why are you taking pictures and I said, we have to remember we can't forget, and then nobody else asked me this is that photo, that's an incredible photo then also there, there was a gentleman a paramedic an orthodox paramedic and he was doing his job He was calming them down and talking to them. And he turns to me, and he takes his yarmulke off.

23:08And at a time when I wasn't feeling anything, I would just motor drive. See, yarmulkes do come in handy. And he brought a smile to my face, which is very grounding. And to be able, it's about the humanity. But also that day was about the lack of humanity. Had you, I mean, you saw people die. It wasn't until the 20th anniversary that the flashbacks and I started really remembering. Your brain wants to protect you. You had blocked it out. Exactly. And I saw somebody fall not too far from me and it freaked me out. I ran about a block. Somebody who had jumped out of a loop. Yeah. I ran about a block, recomposed myself, and kept on taking pictures.

23:52It's just an extraordinary record that you've, I mean, it's incredible what you've contributed. Your pictures, some of them are in the museum. In the museum, in Smithsonian, Library of Congress and everything. More importantly, though, it's a historical document. I'm alive, so I'm not celebrating today by no means, though, but I've gone through a lot. Just happy to be here. It's an honor to talk to you. Thank you. For many of us who live in this city and were here that day or lost family members or friends, it is hard to imagine, but there are so many Americans alive now who are not even born yet or were so young they have no memory of 9-11.

24:31Because in order to never forget, we must remember and remind people of what happened that day. Here's CNN's Tom Formel.

24:41People are jumping out the windows. Over there, they're jumping out the windows. The situation is that two airplanes have attacked them. Nearly 100 million people have been born in the United States since that September morning. One-third of the nation has no real memory of that terrible day. We made it all the way downstairs. And then when we were just about to come out of the building, there was another blast. And sharing the memories is growing more difficult. The greatest number of victims were in their mid to late 30s, meaning many of their parents have passed away. Many spouses, partners and friends are approaching old age.

25:27About an hour ago, about 845 Eastern time, one plane crashed into the tower, the World Trade Center tower on the right, the first of those towers that you can see behind me. Some who were front and center are gone too, and others have slipped from the limelight, including the man who heard the news at an elementary school in Florida, a half hour from where some hijackers trained. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. More than 3 ,000 children lost parents. Eight children died on those planes. The youngest, Christine Lee Hansen, was two. Her stuffed rabbit is now in New York's Memorial, one of several sites tasked with maintaining the nation's collective history of 9-11.

26:21Another is at the Pentagon in D.C. and another in a Pennsylvania farm field where the last plane came down. The voices of some victims can still be heard there. Okay, well I just wanted to tell you I love you. We're having a real problem on the plane. I'm totally fine. I just love you more than anything. Just know that. 9-11 led American troops to Afghanistan, hunting terrorists behind the attack. They would stay for nearly 20 years, even as the nation back home moved on in so many ways. This is new for me. This kind of heat. Consider in September 2001, Tom Brady was in his first season as a starting NFL quarterback.

27:10Taylor Swift was 11, the iPod was about to debut, and an Illinois state senator was almost 10 years away from this historic moment. The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda. A quarter century after any major event, collective memory starts passing from witnesses to historians, filmmakers and teachers. Yet on this anniversary, people who cannot remember that dark day are still gathering with those who cannot forget. Tom Foreman, CNN.

27:57Coming up, we mentioned him already, Joseph Pfeiffer, the first New York Fire Department chief who responded to the World Trade Center scene, remembers the heroes lost that day, including his firefighter brother. Thank you.

28:38of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. Is your closet ready for summer? I used to dread shopping, hours browsing online, or refighting the store with no guarantee I'd find anything I liked. That's why Stitch Fix is my secret weapon. My stylist knows the trends and what actually works on me, then sends it straight to my door. Free shipping, free returns, no subscription needed. Get started today at stitchfix.com. That's stitchfix.com.

29:29Detail and salute!

29:34The firefighters of engine and ladder company Tanja steps away from here earlier today. Joseph Pfeiffer was the first New York fire chief at the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th. He'd been nearby checking in a gas leak when the first plane hit the North Tower, and a documentary film crew happened to be following him and others from his firehouse that morning and captured the first plane going into the tower. Take a look. We checked the area with meters, and it was kind of routine. It was 8.46 in the morning. That's when this stopped even resembling a normal day.

30:27Holy shit!

30:34Lateef Pfeiffer is the author of Ordinary Heroes, a memoir of 9-11. I spoke to him recently. 25 years later, what goes through your mind when you see that? It brings me back to that day, which started off as a routine, normal day. We were at an emergency, an order of gas. And then hearing the plane coming overhead at a very low altitude, so low I could read American on the fuselage. Really? You could see it? I could actually see it. And it was traveling at a very fast speed. I could hear the engines roaring. And then I saw the plane aim and crash into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

31:20And in that moment, I knew it was no accident. I said it on the radio. My exact words were the plane was aiming for the building. Everyone says you were the ideal person to be there first on the scene. What do you do in a situation like that? I had to be in this building a couple hundred times, so I knew it really well. And I knew the job was to evacuate the building and then regroup on the upper floors to get the people who were trapped by flames and by smoke. And that was the game plan. But things were happening very, very fast that morning. And as I gave the orders to my firefighters to go up, I also gave another order to evacuate the South Tower a little bit before 9 o 'clock.

32:12But at 9.03, that second plane hit. So now we have two 110-story buildings with people in them and on fire. Your brother also responded, Lieutenant Kevin Pfeiffer. Did you talk much? Did you—I know you saw him. You write about this. When he came in, I was kind of surprised. I thought he was off that day. And then he came up to me, and we looked at each other without saying a word, wondering if we were both going to be okay. And then I ordered him to take his engine company 33 to evacuate as they were climbing the stairs, and then they regroup on the upper floors. And as he turned around and took his engine company, that was the last time I saw my brother Kevin.

33:11Your brother delayed his own evacuation in order to help others. After I called to evacuate the North Tower, he was coming down with the other firefighters and civilians, and he stopped on the ninth floor to redirect civilians and firefighters to a safer way out. And I know that because the captain of Engine 7 told me that if it wasn't for my brother, him and his company would have never got out of the building. So you called for the evacuation of the North Tower? Yeah. The chiefs I was with, when the lobby goes completely dark, said, We've got to get out of here. How many people do you think got out of the building because you made that call when you did?

34:05I think that day, we had about—in both buildings in the complex, we had about 20 ,000 people. And as we all know, we lost about almost 3 ,000, which means that we saved 17 ,000 people that day. And I think that's the number we have to remember. The other thing that's so haunting is, I mean, I've seen the videos of the firefighters arriving, I mean, debris falling, people falling. It's just, it's unimaginable. That sound is just a horrible sound. Where I was in the lobby, where my chief's car was parked, was right outside, and there was a plexiglass awning. And at one point, we would hear this loud thud, and that was someone jumping.

35:02And I only could imagine what choice people had to make between burning to death and then jumping to death. And then I heard the thud happening again and again to the point that I ran over, picked up the PA system, And I don't know if it was still working, but I picked it up and I said, if you could hang on, hold on, my firefighters are coming up to get you. You tried to speak to people throughout the tower. Yeah. To try to tell them not to jump. If they could. But what a difficult decision people had to make. Thank you so much for talking to us. Thank you.

35:53Today in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 40 passengers and crew who fought back in the skies in United Flight 93 were honored. Students Randy Kaye visited Shanksville to see how the community is doing 25 years later and see why that quiet feel remains a sacred symbol of extraordinary American coverage.

36:19I kept wondering where the plane was. The biggest piece that I saw was about the size of a car hood and had a few windows in it. But everything else probably would have fit in a shoebox. A volunteer firefighter at the time, Brad Schober, remembers standing in the field not long after United Flight 93 went down. just outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It left a crater 40 feet deep. I'm standing on the rim of the crater looking at it, and I'm thinking, like, there should be a plane. And I look at this big round hole, and then I notice you could see the imprints of where the wings were. It was like you, I always describe it to people.

37:00If you took a model airplane and dropped it nose-first in the snow, that's the print it would have made, and that's what was in the ground. It's amazing to hear you talk about it because it's been 25 years and you talk about it like you just saw it yesterday. You get to relive it every year and it flashes back like we were just right there. Most people here, even decades later, have never forgotten that day. Shanksville Mayor Christopher Beckel was just 15 and in school when the plane went down. I was on the side of the building that overlooked the mushroom cloud and I was like, oh, like somebody's house broke.

37:33Because like we all ran to the window and looked out. Shanksville is a small rural town in western Pennsylvania, about an hour outside Pittsburgh, with a population of about 200 or so. Suddenly, the world was watching. We're kind of thrown into the spotlight, but it's small town America. That day was just a constant stream of who knows what trucks between CNN and different news organizations, all the different government agencies, FBI, CIA. The global interest only magnified the heartbreak here. Beckel remembers the makeshift memorial his mother started in their front yard. Her and one of her friends put a sign out in the front yard.

38:17It just said something simple like, we will never forget. People started stopping, looking at it, signing their names. Before he knew it, it was filled up, so they had to put another sign up, another sign up. Hijackers took control of Flight 93 somewhere over Cleveland with a plan to fly it into a building in Washington, D.C. 25 years have passed, but many of the people we met here in Shanksville told us they still find it hard when the anniversary of September 11th comes around each year. They told us they stay here because of the bond they formed with each other and with the victims' families.

38:49They are united in grief. Every year we open our firehouse on September 11th, and usually the same family members come every year to make sure they visit with us, but they're very genuine and very caring. The people I've met through Flight 93 and 9-11 have been just really awesome, and I don't want to lose that. Is that why you stay? Oh, yeah. On each anniversary, residents, along with family members of the victims, gather here at the Flight 93 National Memorial just outside town. At the entrance is the Tower of Voices. The tower is 93 foot tall, and inside the tower are 40 chimes and each of the chimes are tuned to a different tune to represent the individual voices of the 40 passenger and crew members.

39:40But yet when the wind is blowing, it creates a melody to signify the unity of those 40 people on that day.

39:52The brave passengers and crew banded together that day and fought back against the hijackers until the doomed flight crashed. If you take a look out in the field there, that boulder, that marks the very spot where Flight 93 went down. And essentially now, 25 years later, this is still a graveyard. They recovered DNA from all 40 of the passenger and crew members that was able to be given to the family members so that they could have their own burial for them. I mean, just standing here is really powerful. Yes, it is.

40:30In Shanksville, there is a profound sense of responsibility to protect the memory of those who died here and to educate future generations. Why is it important to you to have future generations remember what happened here? It's our Pearl Harbor. It's our generation's Pearl Harbor. History repeats itself. And you need to learn, you need to remember. You need to remember what happened that day. You need to remember who was involved. You need to remember the heroes of that day. A hundred million people have been born since September 11th with no lived memory. And we're doing what we can to try to bring this next generation into the fold.

41:05Remembering to me is thinking about those 40 people, how courageous they were, leadership, unity, kindness. Those 40 people gave it all for their country. Randy Kay, CNN, Shanksville.

41:26What a beautiful community. Coming up, a son's movie tribute to his late father who died on 9-11 when he was just two years old. So we're going to break a musical tribute from cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

41:57Go to heaven a-shouting, a loving daughter, a loving son.

42:16Country singer Jennifer Nettles, her rendition of Go Rest High on That Mountain. Each of the fallen on 9-11 had a family who loved them and who has thought about them and missed them every day for the last 25 years. Elvin Romero worked on the 104th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He was the father of two young kids, Gabrielle and Alexander. Here's Alex today. And my father, Elvin Romero, although I don't remember you, I try to live my life in the way that I was told that you did. to live life fully, to treat everybody with kindness and respect. We all know here that life is painfully too short, and I believe he would want us to all value each day, to find beauty in the ordinary, in the quiet moments, to go get the ice cream.

43:02Don't wait for tomorrow. Don't be embarrassed to love boldly and loudly. Don't leave anything left unsaid, and try to make the absolute most of the limited time that we all have here. I love you. I wish I got to know you. Please keep looking out for all of us and keep us safe. We miss and we love you mucho.

43:25Alex Romero was just two years old when his dad died and we spoke with him 15 years ago for the first time. Yeah, I don't really remember anything about it. Sometimes I think it was a better thing that I didn't know him and then he was taken away from me. Or if it was the worst thing that I didn't get to spend the little time I would have known with him. Twelve years later, I spoke to him again just the other day. He's now 27 years old. Thanks so much for doing this. How is this anniversary for you? it's heavier than most um sort of i've listened to your podcast i've listened to your story a little and similar to you i've ran for my grief i've ran for my pain and i haven't faced it and i haven't grieved i had a similar realization a year or two ago so the last two three um 9 11 anniversaries i've hit differently i think this is the first time that i'm facing it head on and really feeling the emotions that for a long time i didn't when you and i first talked years ago I want to just play what you said.

44:38I don't really know if it's gotten easier or worse because I was just I never knew anything really so it was just after time it got it was the same thing. It was 15 years ago when you hear that what do you think? It's it's fascinating how much has changed and then how little change at the same time so you know I have my perspective is totally different but I'm still that 10 year old boy still have that same anger frustrations rage but then a calming acceptance of the loss and it's taken a while to get there you talk about waking up to the grief did you consciously bury it or did it just sort of it was just a natural thing as for a child to do it was just a natural thing for a child to do because I had no memories of him, but I started to grieve what I lost, what I didn't have.

45:35The absence of him. Exactly. So then over time, now that's morphed to realizing, no, I did, I can grieve him even if I don't particularly feel like I know him well. I don't know him as the father. I know stories of him as how he was as a spouse, as a friend, as an uncle, as a family member, but not from the perspective to me that matters obviously the most. You look a lot like your dad. When you hear that, what do you think? Now, as I'm aging, I take it more as an honor to try to carry on his legacy and things of that regard. But for a long time, it just made me angry. I didn't want to hear that.

46:10I was my own person. And that came from not knowing him. But now I take it almost as a badge of honor. And I'm happy to look like him and carry that on. When this anniversary comes around each year, do you dread it? I dread it. I, the second week of August, my body reacts before my mind even gets there. The anger, the anxiety, the just, the rage. And it's, I'm not an angry person. So it's just so unique that this one time a year, it really stands out more than others. That's what I'm dealing with now. I might, do I want to keep running and trying to, you know, avoid triggers or do I want to sit with them and be at peace with it.

46:50You talk about the anger and rage. What is it anger at or who or what? Just the idea that the world is a messed up place. But now as I'm growing and I'm aging, I'm realizing, you know, the world's always been filled with death, horror, loss. It's not so much particularly about me and my loss. I'm just accepting the world is filled with crazy things, but the world is also filled with joy. You have to fight to see the positive.

47:21Is there anything else you want people to know? The only thing I'd want people to know is that if you're grieving somebody, it's okay. It's okay to cry. It's okay to be sad. It's okay to be angry. It's okay to feel that. You're not being dramatic. You're not holding on to the past. You're simply human. It's okay. So that would be just my message. It's okay to feel how you feel. Alex, thank you. Thank you.

47:54And thank you for watching. That's it for us. The news continues. The Source with Caitlin Collins starts now.

48:04Still waiting in line? Again? That's time you'll never get back. Save time and money with Stamps.com. Over 4 million businesses have skipped the line with Stamps.com. Join them to save up to 90 % off carrier rates from your computer or phone right now. Print postage for certified mail, registered mail, and packages in seconds. Then schedule a pickup right from your home or office. For a limited time, go to Stamps.com and use code PODCAST for a free welcome gift. Taxes and fees apply. You're listening to a quick ad. You know what else is quick? Selling your car on Carvana. Just put in your vehicle information and we'll give you an offer.

48:42Done. No hassle, no negotiation, no guy from an online listing lowballing you. Which means, by the time I'm done explaining this, you could have basically done it.

48:57Still haven't started? Hey, better late than never. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply.