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American Morning
America Recovers: Feelings of Loss at Pentagon One Month After; First American Casualty of Operation
Aired October 11, 2001 - 10:19 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Unlike the World Trade Center, the fires at the Pentagon are long since out, and the number of casualties, 189, much smaller than at the World Trade Center, where you had over 5,000 people lost. But I can tell you that feelings of loss here are no less painful, and the fact that target, the Pentagon, represents the very heart of U.S. military might made this a very significant site.
And so today, as you say, in just about 40 minutes, President Bush will be at the Pentagon, along with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to lead a memorial service. We are told 20,000 people have been invited, several thousand, 3,00 or 4,000 people are family members of those who perished on the American Airlines flight, 77 that plowed into the Pentagon at 9:40 in the morning on September 11th.
Our military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre is there at the Pentagon right now where he was one month ago today -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Judy, as we listen to the strains of a military chorus, it is almost an exquisitely poignant moment here under these bright, clear skies, reminiscent of that day, one month ago today when there were bright skies, not a cloud in the sky when that airliner plowed into the other side of the Pentagon here. As we look at the wound on the side of the Pentagon, let me tell you just a little bit about some of the people, some of the 125 people killed on the ground here who are being honored today. There are people like Lieutenant Junior Greg Darren Pontel (ph), who was killed. He was 26. The Pontel family lost another son when their son, Steven (ph), 12 years ago, was killed attempting to land on a Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Lexington.
Their were people like Peggy Hurt (ph), a civilian who had only been at the Pentagon for two weeks. She was very excited about her new job after leaving a stint with the National Guard.
There were people like Sergeant Major Larry Strickland (ph), who wasn't even supposed to be working that day. He was one month from retirement. He was supposed to be on leave, but he was described as a very, very hard worker, who always came in when needed.
Edward Rowenporst (ph), who says one of his favorite things was it bring his 7-year-old daughter Ashley to his office at the Pentagon and give her this crayons. Judy, it's just on this field where there have been so many ceremonies of pomp and circumstance. It is just a very quiet sadness that can be felt here today -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: Jamie, I know it is difficult for you, someone who's covered that building and those people for so long, and so completely understandable that your emotions come to the surface at this moment as well.
We're going to come back to Jamie and come back to that service at 11:00 Eastern Time.
We want it tell that you that President Bush, we just learned, will hold a news conference tonight at 8:00 Eastern Time. This will be the president's first full-fledged news conference since the terror attacks on September 11th, and of course CNN will carry that live.
Now, as it's been reported throughout this time on CNN, more action on the ground in Afghanistan, and for a little bit more on that, let's good inside the Pentagon to our correspondent, Bob Franken -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Judy, we are just getting word that an Air Force sergeant who had been involved in heavy machinery in the northern Arabian peninsula in connection with this operation has died after an accident. It was not an accident in combat, but it was an accident in connection with Operation Enduring Freedom. We are getting more details from the Air Force. This is a report that we're attributing to the associated press. He had his accident about three days ago. So he will become the first casualty of this war, which of course the United States has said repeatedly is going to go on for a long time, and thus far, reports in this building has involved planning for air strikes which have been going on for several days now, air strikes we have been seeing both nighttime and day time.
This is very, very recent video from Kabul, showing the raids that have been conducted over Kabul are continuing into the daytime. There are dramatic nighttime raids, too, some of the heaviest bombing of the capital city of Afghanistan. You can see the dramatic video from overnight, some of the bombing that was done under the cover of darkness. Pentagon officials repeatedly say that this very populous city of about 100 million people is not the actual target of the bombing. Trying to make the point that they're doing everything they can to avoid civilian casualties.
Rather, they say, they hit military facilities, barracks, command and control centers and the like, surface-to-air missile sites that are located on the outskirts of the city, and that was what we were seeing right there.
Of course, Taliban government officials say that there have been many more civilian casualties than the Pentagon has announced. The Pentagon says it is going through great pains to avoid civilian casualties, but is not always successful. Now, as the planning goes on in this building, the next operation is expected to be ground troops, if it hasn't started already, the commando units, special forces units, that type of thing, which is to be going here. There is very little detail that's been given from here, but there's been plenty of planning going on for it. And the point here, Judy, is that even though one month ago, this building suffered such a trauma with the tragic crash of that plane into the building, the military recovered very quickly and is very deeply involved in its fundamental job, planning to fight this war that's going to go on, they say, for a long time.
WOODRUFF: Bob, we know from the reports late yesterday, today, Pakistan now giving its permission for U.S. forces to be based there. To what extent is the Pentagon saying this will, or are they saying whether this will support the next phase, which almost everyone believes will involve ground forces, over an extended period of time?
FRANKEN: Well, they aren't publicly saying, but defense officials do say that this will be part of the operation. The official word is that it will be used for humanitarian issues, and search and rescue. But there is going to be every effort to extend that mission.
They also say, that in addition to the bordering countries, such as Pakistan and Uzbekistan, the use of the Kitty Hawk will be very vital to the operations that occur, the Kitty Hawk of course is an aircraft carrier that departed Japan and headed for the Arabian Sea. We are told it is just about in position. Its decks do not have all of the airplanes that are normally part of an aircraft carrier compliment. Instead, the decks are designed to be used as a jumping off point for many of these military operations. In effect, it becomes a floating base -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, Bob Franken at the Pentagon, telling us that one month to the day after so many at the Pentagon, 125 at the Pentagon lost their lives, 64 on an airplane, and the first American military casualty of the fighting that is going on in Afghanistan. Once again, the memorial service gets under way in a little over half an hour from now at the Pentagon.
Now back to Paula.
ZAHN: Haven't had a chance to say good morning to you, Judy.
Thanks so much.
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