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American Morning
Liberty Island Opened at Night for 9/11 Victims' Families
Aired September 05, 2002 - 08:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Last night for the first time in three years, the historic Lady -- or Liberty Island in New York Harbor was opened in the evening to host a very special celebration for the families of the victims of 9/11. Coming exactly a week before the one year anniversary, it was a very emotional night. The event was the work of an organization called Gift of New York, which is providing free access to many of New York's cultural attractions for the families of 9/11 victims.
And I was privileged to go along.
Here is a little bit of what it was like.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: So many families that I've spoken with have such mixed emotions about this one year mark. As we stand here on this glorious night and you look north, what do you reflect upon?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day I still say I can't believe this is happening. People use this word closure or well, you know, you've had a memorial service and now they identified my brother's remains on July 18th, that's closure. Now you can have a funeral.
The word doesn't exist in our vocabulary.
My brother was 44 years old. He was a fireman for 13 years. I do believe that he is with us in spirit. But I miss him being here.
ZAHN: What has it meant to have had the support of some of the other families that are enduring the same kind of pain that you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is such a source of comfort to know that there are people who know exactly what you feel. It's comforting. You know that somebody else understands.
ZAHN: There's a lot of controversy over what should be done with the site where the World Trade Centers once stood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there definitely has to be an incredible memorial built. But I also believe that we need to rebuild a heart of our financial district and make it as strong as it ever was as a message to anybody who thinks that they can hold Americans down or stop us, that we come back. We come back fighting and stronger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My three brothers are firemen. I also have another brother who's a Port Authority police officer. My dad is a battalion chief in charge of many firehouses in Brooklyn and they were all down there that day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My brother Michael and I were called down when there was a total recall of all fire department, all the fire department members in the city. We stayed there all night hoping to get in to search for our brother and we came home without him. And it was, I could tell you, it was the worst day of my life when I walked into my parents house without my little brother, my youngest brother.
ZAHN: How will you as a family mark this September 11?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that we'll just, I'm going to go down to the site. I wish I had a place that we can go, but we have nowhere to go and visit my brother.
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's sad because you know you're meeting these people because of a tragedy. No matter what family you're looking at, you know they lost someone. And it kind of makes you stick together, kind of.
ZAHN: Tell us a little bit about the challenge of explaining to Corianne (ph), your daughter, what happened to her grandmother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there wasn't much explaining because it was all over the TV. She knew what happened. She's a smart girl.
ZAHN: What do you hope Americans will remember this September 11?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To stick together. Everybody, the Americans have to stick together and stand behind the president and just, we're better than them. We're better than the people that did this to us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that your brother?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My cousin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cousin. What's his name?
ZAHN: Stephanie, let me see what you drew here. You want to read to me what that says?
STEPHANIE: It's says tell what liberty meant. So liberty means for everyone to join together and help the world spin. Well, that was my definition.
ZAHN: And what do you think now when you hear the "Star Spangled Banner" like you heard tonight or when you hear "America The Beautiful?"
STEPHANIE: Like before like I really didn't care. But like I thought it was just a song for America. But now I know what it means, like how it's a symbol of America as a nation sticking together. UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: God bless America, my home sweet home. God bless America, my home sweet home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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