Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Larry King Weekend
The Best of the Week's Interviews
Aired November 18, 2001 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight: Tragedy hits New York City again, and the Taliban is dealt a devastating blow in Afghanistan. We're going to look back at a remarkable week in New York, and around the world.
Starting with New York Mayor Giuliani on New York's latest crisis, and the city's struggle to get back on its feet.
Also "20/20" anchor Barbara Walters tells us what she did to help New York.
And then hear the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson's extraordinary story of where she was when planes hit the World Trade Center.
And journalist Saira Shah. She risked her life for a close-up look at the war in Afghanistan.
Plus Sarah Van Auken. She lost her father in the World Trade Center. We'll hear her moving tribute to the man she'll always miss.
And it's all next on LARRY KING WEEKEND.
Thanks for joining us. It's been an incredible week here in New York, and we've had some great guests; so great we thought you might like to hear some of them again. Tuesday night I spoke with New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. It was the day after the crash of Flight 587.
And once again, the mayor was showing the stuff that's made him a national hero.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, NOVEMBER 13, 2001)
MAYOR RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), NEW YORK: I was in my office having a meeting. It was technically a city holiday, it was the official Veterans' Day. And I was having a meeting with four or five people, and one of the police officers walked in and said, a plane is down in the Rockaways. We don't know if it is a small plane or a large plane and it has hit several homes.
KING: First thought?
GIULIANI: Obviously, first thought was that we have to assume immediately that this is an attack, until we know otherwise. So I immediately called the head of our office of emergency management, Richard Sheirer, who happened to be out on the Bell Parkway at the time. He actually saw some of it.
So he headed directly there, called police commissioner Kerik, and we decide that we would go out there but not take the helicopters because we didn't want to use the helicopters. We wanted them to be part of the emergency operation. So we set up a caravan and just started heading right out there.
And while we were in the van, I called the White House and talked to Andy Card, the president's chief of staff and eventually the president, and they told me that there was air cover. They had had no intelligence on it. In other words there was no one taking credit for it. And I talked to the governor, and by the time we got there we had determined that we would close down the city from the point of view of people entering the city, not exiting.
And the police commissioner deployed a plan that we have in place to cover the city in a situation like this. And then we went up -- then when we got there, myself, the police commissioner...
KING: By that time you knew that it was American Airlines, a flight going to Santo Domingo, you knew all that.
GIULIANI: And there was a tremendous amount of fire and spoke when we first got there and you really couldn't see on the ground. So we grabbed a helicopter and went up in the air so the fire commissioner could see it from above to get an idea of where all the fires were. And when we got above it we were actually somewhat relieved, although it sounds terrible to say with the tremendous number of casualties involved, we were relieved because the area that it hit was so confined.
Because when it was being described to me, and that it was an Airbus that came down, I had a -- we all had a sense that it probably took out four or five blocks. But it came down in a way in which it just landed in one particular place.
KING: So many things must have been going through you -- right -- terrorists -- not terrorists -- accident -- not accident -- your own city, and what is happening, right? Did all those things converge?
GIULIANI: But you know, we have been through it so often, meaning emergencies in the past, you sort of go into automatic pilot.
KING: Really?
GIULIANI: Into a -- you know what your response has to be, which is, we have to focus on, how do we protect the city in case there is another attack? How do we confine the fire? How do we make sure we have the right number of emergency people out here? We realize once we got above the fire we could see it, that we actually had too many people there, that there were too many police officers and firefighters and it might hurt the -- ability of emergency vehicles to get in and out. So we actually removed some people. And I have to say, I mean, I just have to say this about our firefighters and police officers: If anybody has the slightest concern over their morale, yesterday would dispel it completely.
The way in which they put out that fire -- I mean that was a massive, massive fire, and jet fuel all over the place. The fire was out in two hours. It never got beyond where it originally started. And it is because of their expertise, their bravery, their unbelievable ability to fight fire, which is, I think, unlike anybody else in the world.
KING: What did the president say?
GIULIANI: The president -- I talked to the president when I actually got to the scene and I described to him what I saw. And the part I remember the most distinctly was the president said, New York is being tested again. He said it is a shame New York is being tested again. I said Mr. President, we will pass the test like we did last time. He said, I know you will.
KING: How long can you keep...
GIULIANI: ... passing tests?
KING: Really, how long?
GIULIANI: As long as is necessary.
KING: There is fortitude and there is fortitude.
GIULIANI: As long as it is necessary. Let's assume that what happened yesterday was an accident. I don't know that we can assume that. I guess we can assume it for the discussion. I think they have to finish the investigation before...
KING: The are assuming it, aren't they, at the current time?
(CROSSTALK)
GIULIANI: I think that is the hypothesis, but I think they are looking at every single aspect of it to make sure. But given what happened on September 11 and some of the other things that have happened, anything like this now is going to tend to really frighten people. And what our job is, I think, as political leaders, leaders in the community, is to try to get people to learn how to deal with this.
That is a psychological thing that is going on. They are playing -- playing with our heads. And the fact is that things are safe, people can go forward with their lives. There are risks in life, and we have to try very, very hard to get people back to normal. And that is why we kept the emergency plan in place for two hours...
KING: Not long.
GIULIANI: ... when we determined that there was no risk of further attack, at least no evidence of any further attack, the governor and I decided -- Governor Pataki and I decided jointly that we should open the city and not close it down. We would probably have a few more checkpoints. And we are on a pretty high state of alert anyway. I keep kidding around with Bernie and Tom, the fire commissioner and the police commissioner, when we hear we are on the highest state of alert, I call up and I say, OK, what is the next higher state of alert we can go to?
KING: Have you gotten good at comforting the afflicted?
GIULIANI: I hope.
KING: Is there a modus operandi to how you do that?
GIULIANI: You know, I got a lot of experience in doing it. I was sworn in mayor of New York City -- actually in the evening of January 1 1994, at midnight, I became mayor. By 3:00 in the morning I was out in a hospital in the Bronx with two police officers that had been injured.
I have been with police officers and firefighters and sanitation workers and correction officers when they get injured, when they get killed in the line of duty, gone to their funerals, comforted their families. I feel that is part of my obligation as the mayor.
KING: So you get used to it?
GIULIANI: No, it gets worse, actually. And the worst part of this is because of the large numbers, the numbers that reach almost 400 in terms of uniformed officers. I can't go to every funeral, I can't go to every wake. I try to do as many as possible. Sometimes I have done 4, 5, 6 in a day. I used a helicopter in order to accomplish it.
Today, in the mist of all this opening the family center and dealing with -- I've been to Rockaway, I was to Washington heights, I was at the family center, I was with the governor. I took some time off to go to the funeral of Lieutenant Levy, who had his funeral today in Westchester County.
I try to go to as many as possible, but I can't go to all of them and it is killing me, and the fire commissioner, because up until this, I would spend a great deal of time with the family of a police officer, or a firefighter, or a sanitation worker, person who lost their life in the line of duty. It is my job as mayor to do that. You don't really learn how to do it, it just comes out of your humanity. You feel tremendous things for them. I had uncles who were police officers and firefighters, and they do something very special, and if you don't feel for them, I don't know who you feel for.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: Oh my God. The first thing that ran through my mind is, oh my God. And I just passed a church in which I've been to, I think, 10 funerals here. Rockaway was particularly hard-hit. A disproportionate number of the people we lost -- not just the police and fire, but even the workers at the World Trade Center were from Rockaway and Staten Island. And I've been here probably 20 times for funerals and wakes. So the idea that Rockaway was the victim of this -- I mean anyplace it happened, obviously, is awful; but it had a special significance to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WALTERS, ANCHOR, "20/20": It was a busy morning. Breakfast meetings were in full swing. But after the plane ripped into the North Tower, everyone in the restaurant would be fighting for their lives.
Mr. Neal (ph) , how many people do you think you have lost?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think we lost 50 people. We're not exactly sure.
WALTERS: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'd like it if the employees who are safe to get in touch with us. And if any employees, even if they weren't there, to please get in touch with us to let us know that they're safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Wednesday night we hosted one of our favorite people, Barbara Walters. Covered a lot of ground: anthrax, journalism, musical auditions and, of course, September 11.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, NOVEMBER 14, 2001)
WALTERS: I was in my office. I did not have my television set on, and I saw the second crash, as so many people did. And of course, by then, you knew that something hideous had happened. And that was sort of it.
I mean, for the rest -- I can't even remember the rest of the week, we just worked and worked and worked. And I went down, I guess, on the third day and talked to some of the people from Windows on the World, the chef and the man who had -- David O'Neill, who headed Windows on the World. And everybody did those stories that were just so -- need I tell you -- so heartbreaking. And to see these people and to be involved with them, none of us will ever forget that week.
And as journalists, it was very strange. At one point, I wrote a note to Charlie Gibson, he had done something, and I wrote a note commending him, and he said, "Isn't it great to be back in the news business again? Isn't it terrible the reason we are?"
KING: Do you remember your first thoughts?
WALTERS: Well, you just knew that something horrible had happened.
KING: And you go numb, right?
WALTERS: Yes. You know, you're just, "This is not possible." And then, of course, it's bad enough to see it, but then to see that building coming down and not even being able to imagine how are they getting out, what are they doing, what is happening and to have to report it. I thought the anchors of all of the networks -- CNN, everybody -- they just did a fantastic job keeping everybody as much abreast as we could.
KING: You are so much -- even though you spent a lot of your early years in Miami Beach, Florida -- you are so much a New Yorker. What did that part of this story do to you? It was different than if it had been somewhere else, right, for you?
WALTERS: Well, because, you know, New York -- when Mayor Giuliani says New York is the capital of the world, I must say, those of us who live in New York, you know, we do feel this is the only city.
Can you imagine living anywhere else? Yes, there are other wonderful cities, but only in New York. And New York is invulnerable, New York is the biggest, New York is the tallest, New York is the greatest. And you realize from this, you know, we are all vulnerable. And it's changed -- I mean -- a lot of people have said this, I think it has changed everyone's life.
For those of us who are older -- interestingly enough, it's the younger people who are really more interested in the story day by day. Some of the older people have said, "Let's get on with other things." But for me, being one of the younger people, I really do feel differently about my life...
KING: How?
WALTERS: First of all, I eat more. I do. I eat the cookie. I have the mashed potatoes.
KING: Figuring, "What the hell?"
WALTERS: Oh, please, at this point, am I'm going to worry about it, you know? And I just cherish every day and everyone. I mean, I look at you and I think of how many programs we've done and how we've known each other, and I feel much more sentimental about everybody.
KING: Yes. And you realize that you've witnessed the most cataclysmic event in the history of this country.
WALTERS: I think, not only that, but a little part of me says, "Maybe I've seen the best." The future is so...
KING: How so?
WALTERS: Well, because, yes, I mean, I did live through World War II. I wasn't... KING: I was a kid. We were both kids.
WALTERS: Yes, we were kids...
KING: But we were there. I remember it.
WALTERS: ... but I remember it, you know. And I remember, at that time, living in Miami Beach, because my father had the Latin Quarter down there. And I remember that the Army and the Navy were...
KING: Took over the city.
WALTERS: Took over the city. I mean, it was a big deal for me to see an ensign. I was like 13 or 14, and if there was a 19-year-old ensign, hey, you know, maybe he would wink at me or something.
But we never felt that our own country was going to be attacked, and we never had an enemy that seemed to be really worldwide. And so perhaps, if not our innocence, certainly, that part of our life has changed.
KING: What is it like for you to interview people in severe emotional distress?
WALTERS: I don't say, "How do you feel?" I don't put a microphone. I try to listen to them, because just to let them talk and not to deliberately try to make them cry. You know, what could be easier than asking that kind of a question? And to really have the kind of compassion, the sensitivity that you would have if you were talking to a relative. I think of it that way, if this were my sister, this were my child, how would I want to be treated. And I hug them.
When we went to Windows on the World and we talked to many of the employees, some of them who were immigrants, you know, who were custodians in the building or busboys and so forth, and I think of what their lives -- these are people who don't have money, who lots of times don't have insurance, although Windows on the World has been, I think, very good to them and tried very hard.
I hugged them. I mean, yes, I'm a journalist, but I have feelings and a heart. And some of them just wanted to be hugged and just cry.
KING: Back to the scene. When you went down to Ground Zero, as we had to do, what was that like for you?
WALTERS: I think everyone has said it: beyond anything you can imagine. We have not lived through a bombing...
KING: Like nothing television shows you.
WALTERS: Well, because, first of all, you don't realize how big it is. It's a vast amount of space. And it wasn't just the World Trade Center, it's everything that's around it. It's the buildings with the windows that are all broken. Did you see the cross that was there?
KING: Yes.
WALTERS: That was amazing. One of the fireman took me. People have talked about, and said, "We call this God's house." And it had been a customs house between, I guess, right near next to the Towers. And the way the metal -- the iron dropped -- fell was this cross.
KING: Yes.
WALTERS: And I said, you know, "Look at this." In effect, I said, "How can you call this God's house when you look around?" And he said, "The Devil did this, because he saw God's presence is here."
Well, I don't care how you feel about religion or what religion you are -- I mean, you look at that, and you look at these men and women who are there, it is the best of us -- best of us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTERS: Mr. Mayor, have you had time to grieve?
GIULIANI: Here and there. Sure. A little bit. You feel terrible. You cry or you want to cry. And you say to yourself, "I can't. I've got to figure out how we encourage people to figure out some way to get beyond this."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, NOVEMBER 14, 2001)
KING: We're back with Barbara Walters on this edition of LARRY KING LIVE.
New York City has put together a promotion tape. They're not buying time on television stations around the country. They're asking the stations to run them, and they are. Here's an example.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Next.
Name.
WALTERS: Barbara Walters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next.
WALTERS: (singing)
I could do something from "Cats." UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's nice.
GIULIANI: The New York miracle. Be a part of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: How were you listed in this extraordinary campaign?
WALTERS: I got a call from Mayor Giuliani's wonderful press secretary, Sonya Mandell (ph). And she said, we're doing public service, and so we'd like people who we feel are, you know, kind of lived in New York and represent New York.
And even though I didn't move here until I was 15, 16, I consider myself as such a New Yorker. And she said, "Would you do it?" I said, "Yes." And then she said, "Would you try out for a show, would you pretend to sing?" And I said, "Pretend to sing? I do sing." I thought. I thought, Larry, I could sing until I did this. And they're very funny.
And Henry Kissinger does one and Woody Allen does one, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and Robert De Nero. Mine was one of the few that I did myself. It wasn't done with any special effects. And then I was so worried and I was afraid that ABC News would be worried that, you know, that this was -- that I might have looked awfully silly. And how do I then go on that night and do something very serious.
What has happened is that this darn thing has been playing all over the world and it's run on CNN. And people who have never seen me, now think this is what I am, this goofy lady singing "Come and do...
KING: It was great the way they did Woody Allen using computers and Kissinger running the bases. Do you think it works?
WALTERS: Look, is it going to bring people into New York? I don't know. I hope so.
But what it says is, we have spirit, we have humor, we have a feeling about this city. This city is still a miracle. Come. If it makes people talk about it, if it makes someone feel that it still is a city as it is, you know, on "The View," the daytime show, three quarters of our audience is from out of town. I'm thrilled. I want to thank everyone of them personally.
KING: How do you regard the anthrax story, and are you fearful?
WALTERS: We do not get the mail in our office. I do wear plastic gloves at home.
KING: You do?
WALTERS: Yes, I do.
KING: You open your mail with plastic gloves? WALTERS: Well, I don't do it everyday. Sometimes I forget. Most of the mail, I mean, it's at my house. But, yes, because I sort of feel that maybe news people might be a somewhat bigger target, and I have other people in my house that -- so, yes, I do.
You know it took us 17 years to find the Unabomber, and only then because the brother recognized something about a letter. And that's why you hear the government saying, you know, "Do you know of anybody who has witnessed something suspicious? Have you seen a letter like this?" It is very hard to fathom. And you can't -- if it is a terrorist, why didn't they do it on a larger scale? Why didn't they do it, perhaps, you know, even more effectively?
Putin has said that he will give us the vaccine for anthrax if we need it. I think that what is more shocking -- and I did an interview with the man who owns -- heads -- a laboratory called BioCore from Lansing, Michigan...
(CROSSTALK)
WALTERS: And here is the FDA that still has not approved of his plant. For heaven's sake, you know, we have no vaccines for the military, much less for the public, and the FDA still is going to take three months or six months or whatever it is to find out if that plant is safe to keep manufacturing? I mean, we're talking about, where does the money go for charities. Why can't we get this done? There are too many now, "Why can't we, why can't we, why can't we?"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTERS: Christy, you and I have known each other for a long time. And when you and Neal first got together, we thought you were the most mismatched couple. He was very reserved, yes.
CHRISTY FERAR: But you're using "was," OK. I'm just -- I'm sorry to correct you. We...
WALTERS: Forgive me.
FERAR: I'm not calling it "was." Right now to me he's still missing and will be until...
WALTERS: You're right, and forgive me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "UNHOLY WAR")
SAIRA SHAH, REPORTER, "UNHOLY WAR" (voice-over): As dawn breaks, we're finally in Afghanistan. The cold and altitude have made even speaking difficult. (on camera): I can't talk very well because it's very high. We're about 5,000 meters and it's very cold. We've been out all night. Our plans have gone horribly wrong. Our guides missed the bridge. I just can't talk. Our guides missed the bridge over the river, so we ended up having to try and ford the river. We all got soaking wet. We've been out all night, riding our horses in temperatures of about minus 10 degrees. And now they're saying that police are around. We have keep quiet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Journalist Saira Shah risked her life to go beneath the veil in Afghanistan again. Out of her trip, another amazing documentary.
She joined us Thursday to talk about her latest project, "Unholy War." And I asked her why on earth she went back into Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, NOVEMBER 15, 2001)
SHAH: A couple of reasons. Firstly, after September 11, like everyone else, I saw the terrible pictures from New York, and I was trying to believe that it had nothing to do with Afghanistan. And gradually I began to realize that it did have. I felt I should go back, and at the same time on news broadcasts I started to see the Cockshire (ph) River, river you saw a bit earlier in the show, where I had been visiting the little girls in "Beneath the Veil," the last documentary we made. And I realized that these -- these three girls in particular, were right on front line, the new front line that was being newly militarized.
KING: Was it hard to go back in?
SHAH: The journey in was very difficult. Last time we started, as we did with this film, we started from Pakistan, and at that time it was possible simply to take an airplane in which took us straight to the north of Afghanistan, a United Nations plane.
This time the borders had been sealed, and airspace had been closed, so we would either have had to go by an enormous rout which would have involved going by India and about five other central Asian capitals, or walk. So we decided to walk, which meant traveling at night, by foot, over some of the highest mountains in the world, the Hindu Kush.
We went along the smugglers route. We started in a vehicle looking out for Pakistani border guards. We sort of came across smugglers on the way. But then, things got very rapidly worse. We had to abandon our vehicle, go by foot. Our guides got lost very early on. It was very cold, and they made the silly decision to -- that we all should walk across a river, because we missed a bridge over a river and we all ended up getting soaking wet.
Then after that we had to climb to a very high altitude about the height of Everest base camp, because we were wet, I was with director- camera man James Miller and he and I both got soaking wet. Our clothes froze to us and we both got hypothermia.
KING: I don't know how -- understand how you do what you do, but for most of October you were with the Northern Alliance, right?
SHAH: Yes, that is right. We were in territory controlled by Northern Alliance. We weren't really with them, specifically. The film, really, is our journey to find three little girls. On the way, our aim really was to talk to people and find out their views of the war.
Before we could get to their village we had to meet up with a young fighter called Usman who had been our guide last time, and I met him up on the front line, and he explained that there had been a very serious push on that front line which was just a little way up from the girls' village.
The Northern Alliance troops we found had entirely news spirits since there last -- when we were there last they really expected to be beaten any day. But now really, they were entirely different men. But Usman took me aside and, although he is a fighter for the Northern Alliance, he said, look, the problem with Afghanistan is there are so many small individual independent commanders. They might be fighting for the Northern Alliance, they might be fighting for the Taliban.
But the common denominator is that for 20 years, Afghanistan has been at war, all they know how to do is fight. If there was no war they would be unemployed. So they are very dangerous for Afghanistan. Each of these commanders has a little group of men and plenty weapons, and these are the major dangers for Afghanistan.
And he also said the Northern Alliance, although he was a Northern Alliance fighter, he said the last time the Northern Alliance were in Kabul there were terrible human rights abuses, and literally every street of the capital had a different commander in charge of it. And he was very worried about this as well.
KING: We will always remember those three little girls from "Beneath the Veil." I guess there is some mystery. I guess I shouldn't ask you if you found them. I'm sure that comes at the end, or do you want to tells us?
SHAH: No, it is fine, I can tell you. We did find them. Right until I was at their doorstep, I didn't know whether or not we would. Many people had been displaced by war and by drought. When we got to the village we found that many people had fled.
But, yes, we did find the three little girls in the same house where we had seen them last in the same courtyards.
KING: Saira, what is the biggest difference, if any difference, you noticed from the last time to this time?
SHAH: Well, really, the difference in the area controlled by the Northern Alliance was a difference in atmosphere and people's spirits. When we were there last, this pocket of resistance was shrinking and it seemed only a matter of time before the Taliban swept into it and took it. And I was terribly worried that, you know, there would be a huge massacre, a huge human rights catastrophe there.
Now, people there really feel that they are going to be liberated. And, in some ways, their expectations are unrealistic. I spoke to people who have been displaced by the war who said we will be in our homes next week, you know. America is taking over from us.
There was still a lot of fighting in the area along the frontline. I think you're seeing some pictures now of when I went up to the frontline to see Usman. And there was a little bit of fighting that happened up there. But, on the whole, people feel that, you know, that they are about to be liberated.
KING: Now that the Taliban is clearly on the run and out of Kabul, how do you expect their fears about the Northern Alliance, what are your thoughts in that regard?
SHAH: Well, yes, a lot of the same thoughts I was telling you about earlier that Usman, the Northern Alliance fighter, was voicing very eloquently and voiced in our film "Unholy War," really that the Northern Alliance does not have a perfect human rights record.
In 1992, when the former communist forces withdrew from Kabul and the Northern Alliance -- many of the same people who are now the Northern Alliance took over in the capital -- there was fighting, literally, from street to street as different factions fought for control among themselves.
And there was a terrible situation where the civilians were caught in the middle. And particularly for women, it was very hard. If they went out of their homes, often they were abducted. Many women were raped and killed. It was very hard for civilians. And that was one of the reasons why in the very beginning, when the Taliban came, people in Kabul thought perhaps the Taliban will bring peace because it had been so chaotic. Of course, people came to realize how dreadful the Taliban were. But now, of course, you know, we have to worry about stability for Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "UNHOLY WAR")
SHAH (voice-over): It's utterly frustrating. I just wanted to help three little girls in this sea of misery. I couldn't even do that.
I've learned this is no place for quick fixes. Six months ago the world didn't care about Afghanistan. Today a new war has just begun. As it seeks to wipe out terrorists, I wonder if the West has also got the patience, the stamina to help rebuild lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Welcome back to LARRY KING WEEKEND on this Sunday night. We now welcome to this program Sarah Van Auken, the young 12-year-old who lost her father in the World Trade Center attack. And with her on the right is her mother Lorie Van Auken, who lost her husband in that attack.
Let's first have you watch something. This was September 12, the night after that horrific day, and -- well, watch for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, SEPTEMBER 12, 2001)
LORIE VAN AUKEN, LOST HUSBAND AT WTC SITE: He works for Cantor Fitzgerald. And he's a bond broker. And he was on the 102nd floor. And we just haven't heard anything at all.
KING: Did you talk to him at all? Did he call home?
L. VAN AUKEN: He called home. He left a message. And that's the last I heard from him.
KING: That message was left on your answering machine?
L. VAN AUKEN: Yes, it was.
KING: Yes.
Let's listen to the voice of Kenneth Van Auken calling home.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
KENNETH VAN AUKEN, WORLD TRADE CENTER WORKER: I love you. I'm in the World Trade Center. And the building was hit by something. I don't know if I'm going to get out. But I love you very much. I hope I'll see you later. Bye.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
KING: Boy, Lorie, what must it be like to hear that?
L. VAN AUKEN: It was just horrible. It was really just horrible. I could hear the terror in his voice. And he was trying to sound like he was calm for us. But you could hear the chaos in the background and the terror in his voice.
KING: You have children, Lorie?
L. VAN AUKEN: I do. I have two children. My son is 14, Matthew. And my daughter is 12. Her name is Sarah.
KING: How are they handling this?
L. VAN AUKEN: Oh, Sarah is a mess. She goes in waves with hysterical crying and back and forth. And Matthew is in some denial, I think. But, you know, he's obviously beginning to see that, you know, his dad has not contacted us yet. So we're waiting.
KING: Did you -- Lorie, did you get the message before you had turned on the television to see what was happening or after? L. VAN AUKEN: Before. I got the message before I turned on the television, and turned on the television right away and realized it was a plane that hit the building, and of course, thought it was just an accident at first, and then saw the other plane hit the other building and realized that it was a terrorist attack.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: We're back here in New York with young Sarah and Lorie.
First, how's the boy doing?
L. AUKEN: He's doing better. He's still angry. It's been hard to get him to talk about it with any therapists or anybody like that. He talks to his friends, he says that's good enough.
KING: Did you have a service, by the way?
L. AUKEN: Yes, we had a memorial service on September 20.
KING: And Sarah, you mother mentioned the last time that you were having a hard time coping. How are you doing?
SARAH VAN AUKEN, LOST FATHER AT WTC SITE: Yes. I'm doing a little better; not crying as much, but, you know, like on-and-off kind of. Like a couple nights ago, like I held it in so long that, you know, I cried a lot more.
KING: You were a daddy daughter?
S. AUKEN: Yes.
KING: You were real close?
S. AUKEN: Yes.
KING: Was it hard to see what we just saw?
S. AUKEN: Yes, very hard.
KING: How are you -- before we talk about this incredible song here, how are you doing, Lorie? How are you doing?
L. AUKEN: Well, we've been struggling through mountains of paperwork. We've had a lot of challenges.
KING: Paperwork with insurance?
L. AUKEN: Insurance and, you know, charitable problems. And just filling out crime victim board papers and...
KING: Have you received monies?
L. AUKEN: We got some money from the Red Cross, and...
KING: How about from the firm? L. AUKEN: From the firm? Not yet. I'm waiting to get my husband's bonus. We're promised it by November 22.
KING: I read that, that you were going to get it. That will be a big help, right?
L. AUKEN: Yes.
KING: Because you don't go to work, do you?
L. AUKEN: No, I don't.
KING: Now, tell me about this song.
S. AUKEN: I decided to write a song. First I was like, how about a story? No, I think a song -- because I've done that before. And so I just sat myself down. And first I thought of the chorus and it, I don't know, it just stuck with me. And then I like sat myself down and I started writing.
KING: And the background on this -- later we'll hear the whole thing; we're going to play a piece of it now. Well, let's listen. The song is titled -- this is the same name as a famous song of years ago -- here's Sarah Van Auken, a little bit of "Daddy's Little Girl."
(MUSIC)
KING: The guitar is being played by John Karen (ph), currently a member of The Who? How did you arrange that?
S. AUKEN: My mom's best friend Shelly (ph), her brother-in-law Rick Terzoff (ph) was -- is a producer. And he got together with him, so...
KING: Not bad. Where did you record it?
S. AUKEN: It was in John Karen's studio.
KING: Much of a thrill, huh?
S. AUKEN: Yes.
KING: Guy from The Who? playing guitar for you.
S. AUKEN: Yes.
KING: Do you like this idea, Lorie? Your daughter has a great voice; this could be a career.
L. AUKEN: Well, she's been telling us she wanted to be a singer since she was very small, so...
KING: How do you feel about this?
L. AUKEN: Well, at first she couldn't carry a tune, and then around the age of 7 she all of a sudden one day could sing. So, you know, if that's what she really wants to do. I try to tell her physical therapist or something like that would be the way to go, but...
KING: Well if John Karen's doing the background -- the song sounds great. We're going to hear the whole thing in just a moment before they leave us.
You going to release this?
S. AUKEN: I don't know.
KING: What happens? You've got to get it played; we've got to get it released.
S. AUKEN: I guess what happens, happens.
KING: Do you want a career? Do you want to be a singer?
S. AUKEN: Yes, because like for a while there I kind of gave up on that. But, like, that was the last thing my dad ever heard me do, so it would definitely mean something to me.
KING: And you already told us you were going to do a poem, but you decided to do a song.
S. AUKEN: Yes.
KING: And you're happy with this? Make you feel better to have written it?
S. AUKEN: Yes; got it down on paper and stuff.
KING: You must be very proud.
L. AUKEN: I'm extremely proud of both my kids.
KING: You ought to be. Hang tough, Van Aukens.
All right, now we're going to -- as we play out we thank Sarah Van Auken and Lorie Van Auken for joining us on this edition of LARRY KIND WEEKEND. And as we go to the break, before we come back with our next guess in review of the week, here is the song in its entirety. With John Karen of The Who?, this is Sarah Van Auken and "Daddy's Little Girl."
(MUSIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: She was in New York the day the Twin Towers fell. her charity's office was in those buildings, along with some dear friends. On Friday the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson sat down with me to talk about what was lost that day, and also what was found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, NOVEMBER 16, 2001) SARAH FERGUSON, DUCHESS OF YORK: Well, Larry, our offices were on the 101st floor with -- and Howard Lutnick had very kindly, for many years now, had given us an office there.
And we were at "Good Morning America" and we watched the airplane go into the Cantor Fitzgerald offices. And, well, we were on our way down to the World Trade Center later on that day and it was just like, well, you can imagine.
KING: What went through you when you saw the planes hit?
FERGUSON: A total disbelief. I thought that air traffic control couldn't have got it so wrong. I absolutely could not believe that it could have been terrorism. I just -- it was such a clear, blue, sunny day. I just couldn't understand. And then, suddenly, it dawned on me.
KING: Did you lose friends?
FERGUSON: Well, we had lots of acquaintances that we used to work with and they were friends. And, of course, Howard's brother died. And we were -- it's all part of the family. Chances for Children was part of the Cantor Fitzgerald family. So, you know, it is just been a very, very difficult time.
KING: Tell us about that -- the little red doll.
FERGUSON: This little red doll.
KING: That little red doll which survived it.
FERGUSON: She did. She came up from the rubble.
And what happened was she used to sit in the window at the Chances for Children office on the 101st floor. And, of course, when the disaster happened, somehow, she was found by a fireman. And he put her in his helmet and carried her out. And, for me, because she the sign of the charity for me, it was, you know, now let's go on, let's really fight through and let's beat terrorism by getting on with our daily lives and proving that we are not going to be beaten by it.
KING: How has this energized you?
FERGUSON: Well, Larry, what I believe is that we have -- the way we can really help people is by leading and showing that we, you know -- every one said to me, "You are not going to go back to America after this." And, of course, the first thing I said was yes because I am American.
You know, thanks to the American people, they have given me my life back. They've certainly given my girls their mother back. And I always want every opportunity to thank them for that because they have embraced me. So, you know, the most important thing I can do now is really spend more and more time over here, showing it's OK, we can get on with our regular lives and they are not going to beat us.
KING: Are you going to reopen your foundation offices somewhere else?
FERGUSON: Larry, the foundation is already up and running. We raised close to $100,000 for the 9/11 fund which we started. And, now, we are concentrating on the forgotten children of America, neglected children on the streets, HIV-AIDS children. And Chances for Children is up and running and it's -- we are really going to, you know, kick some shins.
KING: And the -- well, we're running close on time, but the feeling back in your -- the country of England has been tremendous for the United States, has it not?
FERGUSON: Well, Larry, it's never been stronger. I think it is a very good solidarity, it is very exciting. And I think that the country really is like the United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Since September 11, Mayor Rudy Giuliani has asked people to come to New York and spend, spend, spend. To encourage it, the city has produced some very funny commercials, featuring some of New York's most famous celebrities. We've already shown you the one with Barbara Walters. Here are a few others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODY ALLEN, DIRECTOR: You're not going to believe this: That was the first time I put on ice skates in my life.
NARRATOR: Everyone has a new York dream. Come find yours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Everyone has a new York dream. Come find yours.
HENRY KISSINGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Derek who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey you, get out of here!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT DE NERO, ACTOR: What's the matter?
BILLY CRYSTAL, ACTOR: You know what's the matter. I'm unhappy.
DE NERO: You agreed to play a turkey.
CRYSTAL: Never agreed. Why would I agree to be the turkey?
DE NERO: You know, it's not a big deal, though. All you do is, you know, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, and you wave...
CRYSTAL: First of all, we don't cluck, we gobble, OK.
DE NERO: I stand corrected.
CRYSTAL: And if it's not such a big deal, why don't you be the turkey?
DE NERO: You want me to be the turkey?
CRYSTAL: Yeah, come on!
DE NERO: You want me to be the turkey?
CRYSTAL: Yeah.
DE NERO: I don't think so. You know turkeyisms that I don't know. Even the expression on your face is quintessential turkey.
I don't see myself as a turkey. You know, if it was an eagle or something like that, I might consider it. An eagle is graceful; it flies and soars. I don't want to belabor it; it's not important. You're going to be great.
CRYSTAL: What the hell are you talking about?
DE NERO: I don't know.
CRYSTAL: Hey, you gobbling at me? Hey, are you gobbling at me?
DE NERO: Maybe next year I'll think about it.
CRYSTAL: No, no, no, this is fun. Cluck, cluck.
DE NERO: What happened to gobble, gobble?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: They all look so wonderful. How's the Ben Stiller?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Ben Stiller, very popular.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: OK, I'll have the Ben Stiller.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: One Ben Stiller.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Oh, and can I get that with bacon?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: With Bacon, you got it.
Hey, Stiller! Table three -- with Bacon!
NARRATOR: Everyone has a New York dream. Come find yours. GIULIANI: The New York Miracle. Be a part of it.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Waiter, could I have a doggie bag?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Tonight's musical number: Mahalia Jackson singing "We Shall Overcome." It's from Columbia Records' "God Bless America" album; and a substantial portion of the proceeds from the sale of this album are going to the Twin Towers Fund.
The song, by the way, is set to pictures from the book, "September 11, 2001: A Record of Tragedy, Heroism and Hope," published by Harry N. Abrams and "New York" magazine. The photos in the book are donated, and proceeds go to the September 11 fund.
We'll be back live on Monday with the president of American Airlines. Until then, good night from New York.
(MUSIC)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
