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American Morning

Interview with Andrew Morton

Aired December 03, 2002 - 07:43   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It was a race, man against nature, a race against time, nine men trapped in a Pennsylvania mine, as that mine quickly filled with water and losing oxygen. For days, they fought to keep each other alive.
In a moment, you will see exclusive videotape from a camera attached to the capsule that helped pull the miners out. It was obtained by noted biographer, Andrew Morton, in his new book, "Nine for Nine: The Pennsylvania Mine Rescue Miracle."

Recently, I sat down and talked with Morton, who has written several controversial biographies of Princess Diana and Madonna and Monica Lewinsky. I wanted to know how he came to tackle the latest subject.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW MORTON, AUTHOR, "NINE FOR NINE": I've always been fascinated by adventure stories, and you can't get more of an adventure story than this, a race against time, a life-and-death struggle, men buried alive for three days, the desperate attempt by rescuers to get them. So, it was a story that really, really inspired me. And I just felt it was like -- do you know the book or the movie "The Perfect Storm"?

HEMMER (on camera): Sure.

MORTON: It was like "The Perfect Storm," but with a happy ending. And that really, really got me.

HEMMER: Yes, and that was the key, I think, the happy ending, the fact that all nine were pulled out alive. At a time when I thought the country had plenty of bad news, here was some good news in late July.

MORTON: Yes, and really, I'm kind of interested as well in what the spirit of the times is, and for me, I think that the rescue at Queue Creek was some kind of a metaphor of America at the moment, because it showed all of the kind qualities there. It was a faith in physics, if you will. It was an endeavor, it enterprise, it was initiative, but it was also sheer grit and it was hard work, and also there was a big chunk of courage in there.

HEMMER: Big time. What struck you about these guys? I mean, nine normal guys who grew up in the mining country of western PA. And now, all of a sudden, they emerged from the ground and they're international heroes, for lack of a better word. MORTON: Well, what struck me about all of the miners I met was that just how -- literally down to earth they are and just when they were rescued, remember, and we all saw those wonderful pictures on TV, they were just thinking, well, we'll get out of the mine, we'll go for a shower, we'll have a chunk...

HEMMER: Yes.

MORTON: ... of chewing tobacco, we'll have a beer, and then go home.

HEMMER: I had read that you thought Mark struck you the most. Is that right?

MORTON: Well, Mark...

HEMMER: And if so, why?

MORTON: Mark Popernack strikes me as one of the coolest customers you'll ever come across. Just imagine, this is a guy who cut into the old mine using the mine machinery. The water powered by him and left him isolated for some, what, two or three hours, whilst his other colleagues desperately tried to escape the inundation. He was prepared to die on his own, in the dark, isolated, and he was rescued by his fellow miners.

And then, he had the awful ordeal, as they all did, of having the air sucking out of their lungs, and then the drill comes through literally at the last few seconds, as they are gasping for their last few breaths.

And then, he goes through something else, because they have to retreat from there, they have to go to the highest point of the mine, then the water is coming towards them. They famously roped themselves together. They say their last prayers. They write their last notes. They cheat death in that way. And then, when they are actually rescued, he's the one who volunteers to go last.

HEMMER: Right. We talked about the human struggle early on in this interview. Did you see an irony, did you see a coincidence, did you see some sort of serendipitous moment knowing that only 10 miles from Queue Creek is where United Airlines Flight 93 went down?

MORTON: I have to say, this is the kind of thing that really makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, because when I used the word "miracle" in the book title, it's -- you know, I'm a cynic like anybody else. But when you're there and you realize that on one side, as it were, of the human book end, you've got man's inhumanity to man, these hijackers out to kill, out to slaughter as many people as they could. And it was a determination to people like Todd Beamer and others who stopped that. That's one side of the human spirit.

Then, on the other side, you've got Queue Creek there, where all of these rescuers -- people from federal agencies, state agencies -- worked selflessly around the clock, and they used their -- you know, used their smarts and all of their experience of years -- from years to rescue total strangers. They didn't know these guys. They didn't know them from the hole in the ground, even though they were in a hole in the ground. And then, they worked around the clock to bring them out.

So, really, for me, I find it such a refreshing story to report about, such a refreshing story to write about, because it shows you that there is some inspiration in the world, some kind of greatness in the human spirit.

HEMMER: A great American story, even for a Brit.

MORTON: Well, yes, and it also shows that in a world that's maybe made a little darker and a little more cynical and a little scarier since post-September the 11th, the American spirit is still there out in the heartland of America.

HEMMER: We all give thanks for that. Great to see you. Andrew Morton, "Nine for Nine" is the book out of Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired December 3, 2002 - 07:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It was a race, man against nature, a race against time, nine men trapped in a Pennsylvania mine, as that mine quickly filled with water and losing oxygen. For days, they fought to keep each other alive.
In a moment, you will see exclusive videotape from a camera attached to the capsule that helped pull the miners out. It was obtained by noted biographer, Andrew Morton, in his new book, "Nine for Nine: The Pennsylvania Mine Rescue Miracle."

Recently, I sat down and talked with Morton, who has written several controversial biographies of Princess Diana and Madonna and Monica Lewinsky. I wanted to know how he came to tackle the latest subject.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW MORTON, AUTHOR, "NINE FOR NINE": I've always been fascinated by adventure stories, and you can't get more of an adventure story than this, a race against time, a life-and-death struggle, men buried alive for three days, the desperate attempt by rescuers to get them. So, it was a story that really, really inspired me. And I just felt it was like -- do you know the book or the movie "The Perfect Storm"?

HEMMER (on camera): Sure.

MORTON: It was like "The Perfect Storm," but with a happy ending. And that really, really got me.

HEMMER: Yes, and that was the key, I think, the happy ending, the fact that all nine were pulled out alive. At a time when I thought the country had plenty of bad news, here was some good news in late July.

MORTON: Yes, and really, I'm kind of interested as well in what the spirit of the times is, and for me, I think that the rescue at Queue Creek was some kind of a metaphor of America at the moment, because it showed all of the kind qualities there. It was a faith in physics, if you will. It was an endeavor, it enterprise, it was initiative, but it was also sheer grit and it was hard work, and also there was a big chunk of courage in there.

HEMMER: Big time. What struck you about these guys? I mean, nine normal guys who grew up in the mining country of western PA. And now, all of a sudden, they emerged from the ground and they're international heroes, for lack of a better word. MORTON: Well, what struck me about all of the miners I met was that just how -- literally down to earth they are and just when they were rescued, remember, and we all saw those wonderful pictures on TV, they were just thinking, well, we'll get out of the mine, we'll go for a shower, we'll have a chunk...

HEMMER: Yes.

MORTON: ... of chewing tobacco, we'll have a beer, and then go home.

HEMMER: I had read that you thought Mark struck you the most. Is that right?

MORTON: Well, Mark...

HEMMER: And if so, why?

MORTON: Mark Popernack strikes me as one of the coolest customers you'll ever come across. Just imagine, this is a guy who cut into the old mine using the mine machinery. The water powered by him and left him isolated for some, what, two or three hours, whilst his other colleagues desperately tried to escape the inundation. He was prepared to die on his own, in the dark, isolated, and he was rescued by his fellow miners.

And then, he had the awful ordeal, as they all did, of having the air sucking out of their lungs, and then the drill comes through literally at the last few seconds, as they are gasping for their last few breaths.

And then, he goes through something else, because they have to retreat from there, they have to go to the highest point of the mine, then the water is coming towards them. They famously roped themselves together. They say their last prayers. They write their last notes. They cheat death in that way. And then, when they are actually rescued, he's the one who volunteers to go last.

HEMMER: Right. We talked about the human struggle early on in this interview. Did you see an irony, did you see a coincidence, did you see some sort of serendipitous moment knowing that only 10 miles from Queue Creek is where United Airlines Flight 93 went down?

MORTON: I have to say, this is the kind of thing that really makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, because when I used the word "miracle" in the book title, it's -- you know, I'm a cynic like anybody else. But when you're there and you realize that on one side, as it were, of the human book end, you've got man's inhumanity to man, these hijackers out to kill, out to slaughter as many people as they could. And it was a determination to people like Todd Beamer and others who stopped that. That's one side of the human spirit.

Then, on the other side, you've got Queue Creek there, where all of these rescuers -- people from federal agencies, state agencies -- worked selflessly around the clock, and they used their -- you know, used their smarts and all of their experience of years -- from years to rescue total strangers. They didn't know these guys. They didn't know them from the hole in the ground, even though they were in a hole in the ground. And then, they worked around the clock to bring them out.

So, really, for me, I find it such a refreshing story to report about, such a refreshing story to write about, because it shows you that there is some inspiration in the world, some kind of greatness in the human spirit.

HEMMER: A great American story, even for a Brit.

MORTON: Well, yes, and it also shows that in a world that's maybe made a little darker and a little more cynical and a little scarier since post-September the 11th, the American spirit is still there out in the heartland of America.

HEMMER: We all give thanks for that. Great to see you. Andrew Morton, "Nine for Nine" is the book out of Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.