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CNN Live Today

People Remember 9/11 Exactly Six Months Later

Aired March 11, 2002 - 14:03   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Six months ago today the whole world shook from the terror attacks in New York and Washington. Today those cities are remembering -- not that they could ever forget anyway -- with ceremonies honoring the victims and the survivor and the countless acts of heroism large and small.

Gary Tuchman spending the day in lower Manhattan. Bob Franken is spending the day at the Pentagon. First to you, Gary and ground zero. Good afternoon.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, good afternoon to you. I've spent the whole day here today at ground zero. I spent much of the first month here at ground zero and although looks much different there are still times where it all doesn't seem real. It just seems like an absolute nightmare.

Here's what we know six months, 181 days after the attacks of September 11, 2001. A total of 2,830 people were killed here in the World Trade Center complex; 753 of their bodies recovered. But there are still 2,077 people who haven't been recovered. You look down there at the ground zero site and see the bulldozers and the tractors and the cranes, the heavy work taking place to recover wreckage, but you also see people with rakes gingerly raking the ground. And the reason they are doing that, they are respectfully looking for the remains of more of the victims.

Just a few days ago six more victims were found, including two New York City police officers. Eighty-three percent of the rubble has now been removed. That's 1.4 million tons. Originally it was thought it would take until September for all the rubble to be removed. Now they're saying it will be May.

The fire is gone. The smoke is gone. That fire burned for weeks. It's all gone now. At this point we don't know what will be done with the site. There's a commission that's been set up. It will ultimately be left up to the mayor of the city of New York, the governor of the state to decide what happens here.

It is thought that office and retail space are the most likely scenarios. It is also thought that 110-story buildings are not the most likely scenarios. What we do know is a memorial of some type will be put here, a permanent memorial. But tonight a temporary memorial will be put into place -- it's called the "Tribute in Light." And what it is are two very powerful spotlights that will plume light into the air. They will be representative and symbolic of the World Trade Center towers that once stood here.

They will be able to be seen in space, we're told. We are told, on the International Space Station, on a clear night, they will be able to see the plumes of light that are equivalent to 2 million light bulbs lighting up at the same time. Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Gary the viewing stand for the public has been erected for quite some time. I think about a month in total, maybe a little bit more than that. Have you been able to see it? How often people come down still at this point?

TUCHMAN: Bill, it has become one of the most popular tourist sites in New York City. You know, traditionally when you come to New York you go to the statue of liberty and the Empire State Building and perhaps the United Nations and Central Park. Now people are coming to ground zero and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. You don't have to feel guilty about doing it. People feel a sense of purpose when they come here, feel a sense of honor. They want to bond with the family members who are suffering so much and this is their way of doing it. So it is absolutely always crowded. You have to get tickets in advance but the platforms that are set up are always jam- packed.

HEMMER: Gary, thanks. Gary Tuchman again live from ground zero this afternoon.

Let's go to the Pentagon now and the National League of Cities will honor the victims this hour. For more on that let's go to Bob Franken again. Bob, hello.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Many of the cities mayors, Bill, will be involved in ceremonies inside the Pentagon. But, of course, the story of the Pentagon from the beginning has largely been a story about Donald Rumsfeld. And I mean from the beginning. On September 11 when the plane hit about 9:43 in the morning, very quickly the defense secretary left his office and went and actually helped remove some of the people who were victimized by the crash of that plane into the Pentagon, which, of course, ended up taking 189 lives including five of the hijackers.

The secretary of defense was there about 15 minutes until the security people convinced him he needed to go back to office and almost immediately began the work of military which has culminated thus far at least in the war that is going on in Afghanistan.

That was the scene on September 11. The scene today is the scene of a building that is going back up more quickly than people anticipated. The section of the Pentagon that we saw on September 11 still flaming with the plane and the wall collapsing, now has a new wall, a new facade.

Workers going ahead of schedule at this half-way point. The construction workers are determined that they're going to finish well enough so that before September 11 of this year, people will be back in the same wing that was hit by the plane. Secretary Rumsfeld, while he participated in ceremonies at the Pentagon at that site with the leaders -- with leaders from 29 countries who are part of coalition fighting this war of terrorism and he talked about what has been dubbed Operation Phoenix.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: From the ashes, hope springs. With the coming of spring the Pentagon building is rising and thanks to the truly outstanding effort of the workers repairs are ahead of schedule indeed from the outside the building looks like it is almost new. I just visited the site a few minutes ago to mark the progress that's been made in these past six months. One thinks back. Our world has changed a great deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Changed, of course, because of the nightmarish violence that occurred on September 11 but the point that is being made repeatedly Secretary Rumsfeld, the president and others is that there is positive change, that it was a wake-up call and that the world is now engaged in trying to eliminate the scourge of terrorism around the world -- Bill.

HEMMER: Bob, thank you. Bob Franken at the Pentagon. On 9-11 one hijacked plane failed to reach it's target thanks to the action of those on board. Today memorials in Shanksville, Pennsylvania honored the people killed on board flight 93 and David Mattingly is now live from Shanksville with more on what's happening there today. David, good afternoon.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Bill. The town of Shanksville remembering September 11 today with the tolling of church bells this morning at 10:06 a.m., the exact moment the flight 93 crashed in the field that you see behind me. It is also the exact moment that a small town began to learn to rise to the occasion in a very big and personal way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): They come from all over America and beyond drawn by powerful emotions to this remote Pennsylvania field by the car and busloads, many just trying to come to grips with what used to seem unthinkable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's this belief that there could be this kind of hatred in the world, that there was this hatred that could cause an accident like this. And also disbelief that it would happen here.

MATTINGLY: When hijacked planes were finding their targets in New York and Washington the passengers of United Flight 93 were fighting back. A struggle that ended with a devastating crash in these pastoral hills. In the months following, after the investigators and the cameras are gone, the county erected a temporary memorial overlooking the crash site. But in nearby Shanksville the 240 residents of this no-stoplight town felt that wasn't enough. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody has a story. Everybody has a reason why they came to Shanksville. And they just want to tell you about it.

MATTINGLY: So Donna Glesner (ph) decided someone needed to be here to listen. She rounded up volunteers -- flight 93 ambassadors they're called -- who now spend their weekends tending to crash-site visitors regardless of weather.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the least we can do. They gave their lives so we can give our time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They gave their lives, so you know, we can put up with the rain and the snow and the wind.

MATTINGLY: You will find them telling and retelling the story of flight 93 to the hundreds to drive the twisting county roads every weekend to reflect, to honor and connect to the 40 passengers and crew who lost their lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without these people telling you exactly what went on, how it happened, what the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department, the EMSs, everything that went on, it's -- you need these kind of people. It's amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a good thing they've done. They need to keep this so everybody can be reminded that we're just not quite as safe as we all thought we were.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Family members of flight 93 today praising the town of Shanksville. They place flowers and the temporary memorial site in one of the more difficult moments of an emotionally-charged day. But this is what the temporary memorial here is becoming known for -- a place where people are coming to try and make sense of a senseless act -- Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: David, thank you. David Mattingly there in the fields southeast of Pittsburgh about 80 miles.

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