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American Morning
09-11 Started as Crystal Clear Morning, But Ended in Tragedy
Aired March 11, 2002 - 07:01 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Six months ago today, September 11, 2001, this was New York City that late summer morning. Not a cloud in the sky. Then, from those blue skies, terror. A nation watched in horror as we were forced to confront the unthinkable, the unspeakable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI (R), NEW YORK CITY: The number of casualties will be more than any of us can bear ultimately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Two more attacks followed. Thousands died and the human toll is still being calculated. This morning we remember that heartbreaking day, six months later, in a very changed world.
Good morning. Thanks so much for being with us this morning. Welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING six months after 9/11, a changed world.
As you can see, we're back on the roof where we covered this story for so many days. Throughout this morning we have with us many of the people whose names and faces you saw on almost a daily basis -- former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, New York Governor George Pataki, former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and the former Fire Commissioner Thomas Van Essen and many, many others.
Our Anderson Cooper is standing by at Battery Park, where he will join us this morning, where memorial ceremonies are due to get under way in less than two hours.
Jack Cafferty will be joining us from Wall Street. We will check in with him in a minute or two.
America learned of the attacks one week after another that morning, not knowing when or how it would end. In different ways for so many Americans, it is still a long way from ending. September 11 started as a balmy, crystal clear morning here. It was primary day in New York City and the big news that day was that Michael Jordan might not be returning to play basketball.
When the day began, there was no way of knowing what was to become.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning. It is Tuesday, September 11.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A couple of live pictures of New York, including this one. That's the World Trade Center. It's going to be an award winner of a day here today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This just in, you are looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is like six, seven floors we're taking out. Hold up, people are running. Hold up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, hold on just a moment, we've got an explosion inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It appears that something hit the Pentagon on the...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we do know that another plane has crashed this morning.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today we've had a national tragedy.
GIULIANI: The number of casualties will be more than any of us can bear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll keep looking. We have hundreds of people over there now. We believe that many of them are gone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: The quiet Tuesday morning six months ago was shattered by the terrorist attacks. It was the dawn of a changed world. This morning we are going to go live to several cities around the country to see exactly how they have changed.
We begin with the three places where those planes crashed six months ago. Barbara Starr is standing by at the Pentagon, David Mattingly in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We start with CNN's Gary Tuchman, who joins us from New York at ground zero this morning -- good morning, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Exactly a half year ago this morning, more than 2,800 people were killed in this area right behind me. And despite the fact that 83 percent of the rubble has now been removed, more than 2,000 of those 2,800 people are still missing. This is where it all began. This is ground zero. And we'll have much more from here throughout the morning.
Now we go to the Pentagon and my colleague, Barbara Starr. BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Six months ago this building was an inferno. It was on fire. The fire would burn for days. One hundred and eighty-nine people died, including five hijackers. Now, the rebuilding of the Pentagon is ahead of schedule and the war on terrorism remains ongoing.
And now to my colleague Dave Mattingly, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 went down.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Barbara.
Since September 11, thousands of people have traveled here to the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania to view the site where United Flight 93 crashed, killing all on board. Our story is about how the residents of one nearby town have risen to the occasion to make sure that visit for all those thousands of people is as meaningful as possible -- Paula, back to you.
ZAHN: Thanks, David.
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