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American Morning

"New York Times" Profiles the Lives of 9-112 Victims

Aired March 11, 2002 - 09:57   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: The first estimates of the death toll at the World Trade Center ran as high as 10,000. Thankfully, that number is much lower now: 2,830. But numbers, of course, do not measure the lives lived, only those lost. And to provide a picture of how each victim lived, the "New York Times" created a series called "Portraits of Grief." A series that touched the hearts of a city and a nation.

And we leave you this morning with some of their stories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLENN COLLINS, "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: We decided to start calling the families and writing portraits of -- of all of the people who had perished, not as they were as victims, but as they had been when they were alive on September 10th.

LYNDA RICHARDSON, "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: It was very emotionally draining. Very hard, but it's just like I was drawn to it. It was like -- you're -- you're doing work that's important.

Something that really sort of does capture sort of the essence of people. And makes them more than a statistic. It brings them to life.

COLLINS: I was completely professional during all of my conversations with the families, but I have to say that, while I was talking to them, tears were just coming down my cheeks. I cried with every family I talked to.

In the early days I saw the pictures of the same children. Their mother's phone number was on the missing poster, and I took it down and I called her. And we had a conversation, and this is what I wrote --"It was essential for both of the Singh children to leave very early on the day of the attack -- by 6:20 AM. Because their roles were so crucial at the conference breakfast at Windows On The World.

Khumladai, age 25, as an assistant banquet manager would be greeting the participants at 8 AM. Her little brother, Roshan (ph), 21 was arranging the audio/visual presentation."

RICHARDSON: "David Silver had a two year old daughter, Rachel. The shape of her eyes and nose are his. 'She is going to be tall just like his father,' said her mother who is nine months pregnant. 'She is asking about him constantly. Where is Daddy? I miss Daddy. How come Daddy is not coming home?

COLLINS: So many of them were about to get married, had just gotten married. You know, had wonderful things were about to happen to them or had happened to them. And I think, every day, the enormity of the tragedy was brought home every time somebody opened the paper and read that page.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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