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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Thanksgiving: Remembering the Victims of September 11th

Aired November 23, 2001 - 22:00   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.
AARON BROWN, HOST: Good evening again and Happy Thanksgiving. I'm not really here. At least, I'm not really here on Thanksgiving. This part of the program is on tape. After nine weeks of long days and nights, it was time for a long weekend. And that is true for many of the people who work on the program. There have been no short days for them either.

So this won't be our typical NEWSNIGHT. No whip around the world, no newspaper editors from this town or that. No John King or Nic Robertson. That's what it won't be.

We'll tell you what it's going to be after the latest headlines. And that part is live.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Back on the day this program was born, September 12, we made a decision to tell you something about the people who died in the attack the day before. That task went to two NEWSNIGHT producers, Catherine Mitchell and Sarah Coyle. And for nine weeks now, they have been meeting with and talking to the family members of the September 11th victims.

They would look through family albums and home videos. They would listen to fathers and mothers and children or best friends, to give life to those who died. We think these are some of the most important pieces of reporting we have done. And we hope, that by doing them and airing them most nights, we are able to gently remind you why this new war matters, and why our world changed so much nine weeks ago. So most of the hour, not quite all of it, but most of it, is devoted to them.

And your guide is correspondent Beth Nissen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is impossible to summarize a life in only a minute or two of pictures and spoken memories, but that is time enough to be introduced to a person, to form an impression of a person's history and character.

You are about to be introduced to some extraordinary people and some ordinary ones. People who paid their bills, joked with their friends, read to their kids and got to work on time. They are remembered by those who knew them well, who loved them dearly, who miss them immeasurably, yet are thankful to have shared their company. And that is why we are sharing these memories with you on Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the first night I met Ray, we were connected and together. We were coming up on our three-year anniversary. We moved to New York for his job with Cantor Fitzgerald. He has a million friends in this city. And Ray's phone was constantly ringing off the hook with people saying, "Where are you going to be? I'll be there." And I mean, he just kept everyone together.

We had a lot of fun. We -- he actually made his birthday into a national holiday, practically. Everyone who knew him knew that on March 27, that it was Ray Day. That's what he called it, Ray Day.

We shared all the same interests. And movies to us were so special. Most couples have a favorite song that's, you know, their song. We actually had a favorite movie that was our movie. And it was "True Romance."

There are just so many things that I can't imagine doing without him. The last thing we said to each other that morning was, "I love you." I said, "I love you, Ray." And he said, "I love you, babe." And that was it. I mean it couldn't have been left any better, but that was so our style.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My friend's name was Giovanna Porras. We knew each other for seven years and -- she's 24 years old. And we were best friends. She was just an easy person to get along with. She was always so fun. So it's, like, how can't you get along with someone that's so fun, that always wants to do something fun, always laughing. She's just like the spirit of the group.

She always started everything. So whenever we were all bored, and we were like, you know, Giovanna would be the one to do something, say something funny or make a funny face to just get us all laughing.

She's just the type of person that you'd really be able to trust in. And you really knew that she cared about you and loved you because she was very affectionate. She just understood everything I was going through. She supported everything I was going through.

I would get a call from her at least two, three times a week. Just her calling and leaving 10 minute messages on my voice mail, telling me everything that happened to her during the whole day.

It's been hard not even getting one, you know, for these past couple weeks where you just go wow, you know. It really hits you because you get no call. You know, even if I had never had to spend time with her again, but just to talk to her and hear her voice. I miss that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We met in college at Kutztown University in 1989. We worked together in a pizza shop. He was a delivery guy. I was the cook. And we started dating. And we were together for nine years. He was pretty wild in college. And everybody has a Bob story. "Unforgettable" is how they would describe him and "outrageous."

And again, he lit up a room. And people knew he was there. And he would tell great stories and have everybody in stitches, laughing. And that's what they loved about Bob. He would sort of burst into a room. And he just -- he was very charismatic and had a lot of energy.

He was always active in sports, you know. Again, always going through the challenge of skydiving or kayaking or you know, always pushing things to the limit. There really wasn't anything that he wouldn't -- that he wouldn't do.

He made a killer chili. The chili was amazing. Everybody knew Bob's chili. And he'd try to teach you something that he's learned because he liked to do that, to sort of dispel his wisdom. He'd be very happy being remembered the way he's being remembered. And his family also feels that way. Because he is being remembered. He is being remembered with smiles and laughter.

NISSEN: In any conversation about September 11, they are simply called "the heroes," the 343 members of the New York City fire department, the 23 members of the New York City police department, and the 37 Port Authority police lost at the World Trade Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My brother was a New York City firefighter for seven years. And he loved it from day one. He never intended to be a firefighter. He wanted to be a veterinarian because he loved animals. And he took the test just to take it, passed it, and I think he actually holds the agility record at the fire department. And once he got hired, it was like the best thing that ever happened to him.

He loved the fire department with every hair on his body. He used to tell you, because I became a cop before he became a fireman. So he was like, "Now we aren't civilians. You know, we can't talk to you now."

Then when he became a fireman, forget about it. You can't talk nothing about the fire department. He was proud of his department. The challenge, he loved that. He loved rescuing people. He loved helping people. He died the way he wanted to die. He must have pulled out a lot of people before he went down. It was his heart. I think he bled FDNY.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Butch was a Port Authority police officer. He's been with them for eight years. We dated 13 years before we gotten engaged. We were engaged a year before we got married. And we were married a little over a year now.

We did a lot together, mostly everything, whether he wanted to go fishing and he didn't have anybody to go with him, I stuck it out. I got seasick last time we will went. He was my downtime, my uptime. He was my hang out buddy. Everything.

At the last World Trade bombing, he was there. He helped do the rescue. From what I understand, they were all called over there to the towers when the planes crashed, to help the rescue. I know that if he didn't manage to get out of building, it was because he was trying to help someone else.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At first I tried to talk him out of becoming a firefighter, but it didn't work. So I let it go. I see that he had a passion for it. And that's his choice. And that's what he wanted. And Tuesday when I realized what happened, I said, "I think something's wrong with daddy, because he didn't call and he didn't say he was OK. And I know that's not daddy's style."

And I said to him, "Keith," he's here watching these things. And he said "the smoky stuff?" And I said "yes." And I said "it's a possibility Daddy may come home or you may never see Daddy again."

His son is his heart. You know, he loved his son very much. And the sad part about it, he don't really understand the concept as yet of losing his dad. When he does, that's going to be the hardest part, you know.

We have pictures and stuff that he can keep in his memories and you know, stuff that he and Daddy do. He would take him to the engine sometimes. And they would go in the truck. He was excited to say, "My dad is a firefighter."

NISSEN: Many of those killed at the World Trade Center were everyday heroes. They didn't wear a helmet or carry a badge, but they were looked up to and admired by their children. Thousands of people, some young, some already grown, lost parents on September 11.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One time I asked him I said, "Dad, do you love me?" And he goes -- comes out of the bathroom with the shaving cream on his face and he goes, "Do you love me?" He goes. And I go, "Yes, Dad, I love you." Then he goes, "I love you, too."

My dad was a great dad. My dad was an Albanian from Montenegro. He got married in 1969. He moved to America September 17, 1969. My father was very happy with his life. He was happy with my family, my sisters, my little nephew, his grandson for sure. That was his joy.

He worked tower two of the World Trade Center. He washed the outside windows. He's been working there since 1975, since the towers pretty much first opened. He loved being up there. It was like his escape. It was his freedom. He loved what he did. He'd say "it's just me and the sky." No one bothers me and I don't bother anybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To me, she was always like a supermom. I thought she could do anything that she wanted to. And you know, she was that kind of person. Anything she put her mind to, she could get done, you know, in terms of her career or her personal life or just anything, like she could get anything done if she wanted.

She went back to college when I was probably about 9 or 10. So she was, you know, a single mom raising me as she went through college. And you know, that's something incredible. You know, college is hard for me. I don't have any kids or anything. So I can't imagine how she was able to do that. And she was taking a full course load, plus raising me and you know, putting me through, always getting me into the best schools and the best classes and the best after school programs and you know, still being active in her personal life.

My mom was a beautiful person. And she had a wonderful smile, a wonderful spirit. I have to say the one thing that I think I have from her now, especially going through this time, the most important thing is her strength. She was an incredibly strong woman. She has an incredible spirit, you know, just full of happiness, full of life. So if I could take anything from her, those would be the attributes I would take.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Welcome back to NEWSNIGHT on this Thanksgiving. Tonight, we're bringing profiles of some of the victims of the September 11 attack. And here again, correspondent Beth Nissen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NISSEN: Loss of a loved one is always wrenching, especially when the loss is sudden or violent or out of the natural order of life, as when a child dies before a parent. These next two remembrances are hard to watch, but it is important to those whose hearts you see breaking that you know a little about the child they loved and guided and protected for years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I loved my son. The thing that bothers me most about all this, is not knowing what happened to him. We were very close. Ever since he was a little boy, he took out the garbage. I mean this sounds like simple things. For the first time that I can remember, today, I took out the garbage.

His sister's name is Lynn. Anything that Wayne did was all right with her. At Lynn's wedding, a little bit of amusing thing, during the course of the wedding where Lynn announced that she and her brother were now going to dance together. When they danced together, the entire family went wild that Wayne was out there dancing with his sister. And he was so happy about that.

I just don't want to overstate this, but in simple terms, he was a gentleman. He was kind. And he was wonderful, but he's gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He always wanted me to be strong. When things got tough, he would look at me and say, "Mom, get a grip." And that is what has gotten me through the last several weeks, remembering the strength that he needed from us.

Tommy had the nicest smile. He was the gentlest child you could ever want to know. He was never embarrassed to give a hug. Up until this very moment when he came to our home, he always came in and hugged and kissed his father and me. He never outgrew that. He's going to be missed just for his presence, you know. He was in his own way larger than life. And he was absolutely thrilled when he found out he was going to be a father for the first time. And as a dad, he just waited to be home in the evening to play with his little girl, Sarah. And then they had their new baby, Allison, on August 31. And we were very blessed there because she wasn't due until September 15th.

So he was able to be there and hold her and see her. I want them to know what a wonderful person he was, how loyal he was to everyone that touched his life in a positive way. I want them to know how much he loved them and how much he looked forward to their being a part of his life.

NISSEN: There is still no exact number of those missing at the World Trade Center. City officials now say their list totaled just under 4,000. Other estimates say the final toll is closer to 3,000. Still, thousands are gone, thousands of individual people with favorite songs and pet peeves and middle names they didn't much care for, people who on September 11 had plans for that weekend and plans for the future. So many futures now forever changed.

BRIAN FLANNERY: We were engaged for a year, maybe like 11 months. She loved that whole 11 months of planning although she would go nuts and drive me nuts. Just the thought of getting married and being Mrs. Brian Flannery and all the plans and the future we had together. And we just got married a couple months ago.

Our dreams were being happy and being a family and having kids and having the house and having our dog and our back yard and our friends and our family around us.

She was beautiful. She just smiled. And it was natural and it was beautiful. But inside, I remember the love, the overall kindness, gentleness, the way she made people feel. She just had a way of making people feel so good about themselves that there was nothing they couldn't do.

She felt that way about herself and she made other people feel that way. And she just loved life. She loved to love. She taught me how to love. And she taught me how to be loved. And that's what I'm to remember. I will carry it in my heart, along with her, for the rest of my life. She's going to guide me all the way. She will be with me until the day I die.

NISSEN: All of those lost, each and every one of them, had a network of people who loved them or knew them well or met them once and thought they were nice, people who now have holes in their lives in the shape of a person who never came home from work that Tuesday. Those tears in so many lives do mend over time. Humans are strong beings with power to adapt, to persevere, to find a way through the sorrow.

Our last remembrance tonight comes from a member of one family that is finding a way through and may help the rest of us do the same.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My brother's name is Thomas Joseph Cahill. He's 37 years old. He was the second of five children.

Tom and I were very close. He was a very fun-loving person. People flocked to him. I consider him a pied piper type person. He was a person of integrity and a person of very strong character. He would always do the right thing. That was very important to him.

He really was a great friend to people. If you had his friendship, you had total commitment from him. He gave it, you know, really 100 percent.

My brother was one of those rare persons who could balance quite a bit of things, whether it be work, his athletic interests of which there were many, his personal interests, having fun with his friends. He really was able to do it all.

We have a very close family. And even though Tom didn't have a wife and children, he was very good with children. He loved our nieces and nephews. And they took to him, you know, like a fly to a flame. And he would wear the kids at the family, like you know, holiday gatherings.

He was a friend and a brother. And it was really a beautiful combination. We spoke every day. Not a day went by that he didn't call me in my office or I didn't call him at work. Some days I go to dial the phone and I go, I can't dial that number, but I have another brother. I call him. And I call my sisters. I call my parents. So we're close. We're tight. We're united. We're strong.

We were raised with a very strong faith. Tom was one of these people that didn't wear his faith on his sleeve, but it was very strong. It was very grounded. I know what my brother's thinking now. He's thinking, "Don't miss me. Don't miss my body. Don't miss my presence." He would want us all to understand the big picture about how it's much bigger than just my brother, Tom Cahill.

For our family it's very important for us, while we have a great sense of loss, we want just everyone to know that there's a great strength there as well and that we consider everyone who was involved in this a true hero in every sense of the word.

The firemen, the policemen, are certainly heroes. The people that went to work that day are also heroes. We're very proud of them. Our hearts will never forget them. The country, I think, will never forget them.

I never thought that I'd see my brother's name on a wall. I'm going to be proud to see his name on a wall. I'll be proud to see all their names on a wall. It gives me strength. I'm convicted. I'm proud, all these emotions are coming out as sadness. It's not sadness. It's a resolve. We're resolved to honor these people. We're resolved to go forward. We're resolved to continue to make this country great. And it is great.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK) BROWN: It's a delicate thing to report on tragedy, basically you're intruding on one person's own disaster to get at a story. And a lot of times families want nothing to do with the media, they feel offended or exploited. But that is not always the case. Many families seem to take comfort in getting the story of their loved one out to the world. Take the case of the family of 39-year-old bond trader, Jim Waters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOANNE WATERS, MOTHER: I wake up in the morning, I think I had a bad dream and this wouldn't happen. But then, as soon as I'm awake I know it did happened. We're very close. More than mother and son, we were best friends.

He just had his 39th birthday, September 4th.

He just was a wonderful son, I just don't know how to describe him any other way.

KRISTOPHER WATERS, BROTHER: Jimmy is my older brother. As a brother, he was a protective brother, older brother. And just looked out for me.

J. WATERS: He was old for his age. I mean, you know, he was -- I don't know how to explain it. Even when he was little, he was very mature. Reading the newspaper my mother used to say, "He's 10-years- old and he's reading the front page -- you know other kids are reading the comics and he's reading the front page."

He played baseball, little league. Cub scouts, boy scouts -- you know he did all that. Used to pass the basket in church on Saturdays, he just always was like that.

PAUL GIBERT, FRIEND: In one word: unselfish, Jim never looked for any pride or any personal, any reward. He always thought of others. His family and his friends.

J. WATERS: When his dad died, I sort of leaned on him. He was sort of, you know, he just did everything for me at that point. I could call him at work any time -- and he would drop anything and he would come to the phone. He always took the time to -- never made me feel like my problems were silly or anything. Sometimes they actually were, I wanted to talk to him and interrupt his day. And he always just made me feel very secure.

TERRY SUMNER, FRIEND: Jimmy was there for everybody and he was kind of an unassuming guy and yet always in the middle of all that was going on, whether it was in business, on a trading floor -- or at a party in the Hamptons, or at a golf tournament down in North Carolina. In a quiet, unassuming way he gave of himself in every activity that he was in.

SANDY ABBOT, FRIEND: The guy had no enemies. I don't think I know a person that was more loyal to his friends than Jim Waters. He just never -- he took life in stride. And he enjoyed the moment as well as anybody I know.

J. WATERS: We've been doing this about a month now. We've been taking all his personal belongings, pictures and clothing and, you know, paperwork and things like that.

Chris, are you going do the plants or do you want me to do the plants?

He loved plants, he loved the animals. He loved working in the yard. Eventually, I keep saying I'm going to bring the plants home next time we come. The plants are still here.

After a month we decided, well, we need to start taking some things out.

So little by little we've been taking it apart. It breaks my heart, I really don't like doing it. Because then I have to come to terms with things which are not easy. It's difficult because it's like a closure. Where before, if I came in and left everything, it's like, well he's coming back at some point.

First month, I didn't touch anything. We would just come in here and we'd go to his machine, and see what kind of calls he had on there or whatever. And there's this Asia 94 on there, of course we didn't know what that was. And it kept showing up and kept showing.

Is she open? Oh, yes she is.

She was the dry-cleaner.

There she is, there you are.

Just loved Jimmy. She kept calling the machine just to hear his voice. She just said, he was so good. He never once in seven years ever, ever went in there without a smile on his face.

He had an important job and everything, but he just treated everybody the same, on the same level. I'm still, you know, there's times where I'm waiting for him to call, or to call him. I forget at times that he's not here anymore.

It's going to be a long transition for me. And for the family. It's going to be difficult with the holidays coming up, I've never been without him since he's been born. He's always been with us every Thanksgiving, every Christmas and every Easter. We're a very close family. Always together, so it's going to be very difficult this year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: On a Thanksgiving like no other, an American hero is next: Senator John McCain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We want to spend a few minutes on this Thanksgiving day with a genuine American hero, Senator John McCain. Senator McCain joins us from Arizona. It's nice to see you, sir.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Thank you, Aaron.

BROWN: The last couple weeks, the news out of Afghanistan has been good, better, best. I wonder, if you have any concern that the country is getting a little ahead of itself in how the war is actually playing out. That in fact, the successes may not be as grand as they are -- as they seem.

MCCAIN: Well, I think they are going exceedingly well and in excess of expectations. Obviously, we have to guard against too optimistic a view. Because as the president has said repeatedly, we still have other challenges of other nations who harbor terrorism and we'll hold them responsible as well. But overall, I think the success is really quite a testimony to our leadership, to our men and women in the military. And to frankly a lot of other efforts that have been made by our intelligence services and our State Department.

BROWN: I think what I meant more is there a danger that people might forget that there's still plenty of danger in Afghanistan, and there's still the possibility of casualties in Afghanistan.

MCCAIN: I think we have a tendency, perhaps, to be surprised when ever an American is killed, but I think, or injured. But I think, more importantly, that once we take care of the problem in Afghanistan and irradicate al Qaeda, and either kill or capture bin Laden, then we have to move to the next country. I thought Condoleezza Rice's comments about Saddam Hussein and Iraq over the weekend were very important, because once we take care of it, then we have the next challenge. As far as Afghanistan itself is concerned, remarkable success.

BROWN: Here at home. Any concerns that the pendulum in this personal security debate has swung too far in the personal security and away from civil liberties?

MCCAIN: I think we all recognize we are in a war, and that accounts for some actions that have been taken. If I might in this case armchair quarterback, if I were the administration I would put out policy papers so that everybody would know exactly what were doing it, why were doing it and what to expect in the future. As far as I know, these do not apply to American citizens, all of the things that have been done. But I think there are questions being raised and they deserve to be answered.

BROWN: I'm going move to on Thanksgiving a little bit.

MCCAIN: Sure.

BROWN: What happened on September 11, is in my lifetime, perhaps not in yours, though -- you went through a lot --the most extraordinary and awful event. I'm curious how it's changed you?

MCCAIN: I think it's impacted me the way it has every American. A mixture of sorrow and pride. Sorrow -- for obvious reasons -- those whose lives were sacrificed, pride that we've produced another generation of American heroes. The firefighters, the law enforcement people, the average Americans who rushed into harm's way at the World Trade Centers.

My personal hero, a young man named, Mark Bingham, who was a supporter of mine, who -- who sacrificed his life in the crash that took place in Pennsylvania. A plane that was most likely was headed for the United States Capitol that morning, where I was working.

It's changed America for the better. It has shown again that we have the qualities of greatness and a place in history. And so, as sad as we are, we can also take great pride in this nation and its people.

BROWN: Do you think the country doubted that it still produced heroes or that it had greatness within it?

MCCAIN: There was never a doubt in my mind, but it's always great to see this manifestation. And this solidarity that the American people are showing in the face of this challenge, the threat to our very way of life.

BROWN: Do you ever worry, finally, that some of the good feeling that's come out of this and we see a lot of this in New York, and I think you see a lot of it around the country, will, when this ends, life will go back very much to as it was. Politics goes back to the way it was, the way we deal with people goes back to the way it was. And we loose the goodness of this tragedy.

MCCAIN: I think there's always that danger. But I think all Americans feel better. The atmosphere is everywhere, whether it be in New York City next to ground zero, or whether it be here in Phoenix, Arizona. I think our job as leaders and our job as citizens is to try to preserve that. I think from a political stand point, if we, again, end up bitterly divided, the American people understandably will condemn us -- and maybe even replace us.

So, I think we all have a special obligation to try to maintain this new-found spirit of America, and preserve it for just as long as possible. And we will, as long as we remember, perhaps not the names of these heroes, but never forget what they did.

BROWN: Senator, your looking well. I hope you are feeling well these days.

MCCAIN: Feeling fine. Thanks, Aaron

BROWN: All right, it good to talk to you. Have a terrific Thanksgiving.

MCCAIN: OK, pal. Thanks.

BROWN: Senator John McCain, from Phoenix tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Leonard Bernstein once said this about music, "It can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable. We think of that when we listen to a rising musician. A teenager, so moved by September 11th, he created a work to capture the horror and the heroism of that day. It honors America's heritage and his own, in the truest sense. A good way to end our Thanksgiving broadcast. So, here again, correspondent Beth Nissen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Connor Chee was born Navajo, in Arizona. His earliest musical influences were Navajo songs and chants. But from an early age Connor Chee was drawn to the piano.

CONNOR CHEE, MUSICIAN: I started playing by ear on a little electric keyboard when I was about 5 years old, and I would just make little tunes up or something. And then they thought maybe I should get piano lessons. So, that's when it started.

NISSEN: Within three months first teacher taught him everything she knew. Within 5 years, Connor was so advanced that his family relocated to Cincinnati so Connor could attend the School of Creative and Performing Arts there.

He began entering and winning piano competitions, Just this year, at age 13, he won a bronze medal as a young artist in the World's Piano Competition.

Winners performed November 10th at the Carnegie Hall Recital Hall. With arrowhead in his pocket for luck, Connor played Shubert.

CHEE: Most people think that the Navajos are -- that they still live in tee-pees or something. That's one of the things that my grandmothers have both told me, is that -- to try to go as far as I could and perform and make something for the Navajo people so that they have -- to show people that they can do other things that most people wouldn't think that they could do.

NISSEN: Now Connor Chee has made something for all people affected by September 11th. Connor was in school when the World Trade Center was attacked.

CHEE: The whole class, we watched that on TV, and we watched when the towers collapsed. It was just -- it was overwhelming.

NISSEN: He went home and sat down at the piano.

CHEE: My way of expressing my feelings is through music. And so I thought I would sit down and I would write a song about September 11th.

NISSEN (on camera): How does the piece start out?

CHEE: It starts kind of loud, and in a way, angry, I think.

(CHEE PLAYING PIANO) NISSEN (voice-over): The piece replays, in 2 1/2 minutes. that awful day, beginning with the collapse of the Twin Towers. But quickly there is a call to arms.

CHEE (voice-over): People have rallied together. Everybody is more patriotic.

NISSEN: The music becomes heroic, majestic -- to represent the rescue and recovery work at ground zero. Near the end, the song slows, reflects what Connor thought survivors, New Yorkers, all Americans were feeling.

CHEE (on camera): After everything sort of started to settled out, they realized what had happened, and it was -- they must have just felt overwhelming sadness.

NISSEN: Connor played the song, which he titled "Lady Liberty," at the Carnegie Hall recital, as a tribute, a requiem for all those killed.

CHEE: The Navajo believes in the earth people and the holy people. And when you die, that you would become a spirit. The spirits do, I think, live, and one way that a spirit can live is, I think, through music.

As I'm playing it, I see the sadness, and yet I see the hope that everything's going to be all right. That we'll be able to get through it.

NISSEN: Get through it, however uncertain we are of the ending.

Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: That is the first NEWSNIGHT Thanksgiving. We hope you've been surrounded by the people you love, that you ate too much and laughed a lot, and had a Thanksgiving that your family will long remember. There was no one here who'll forget this thanksgiving and all that led up to it. Judy Woodruff sits here tomorrow, we'll see you again on Monday. Until then, I'm Aaron Brown. For all of us at NEWSNIGHT, good night.

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