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American Morning
Interview with Ginny Bauer, 9/11 Widow
Aired September 11, 2003 - 07:53 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Today, we tell you the story of one widow of the 9/11 attacks. It takes a person of courage to turn a tragedy like that into something positive.
David Bauer was a sales director at Canter Fitzgerald. He died in the World Trade Center. And his wife, Ginny, decided that she wasn't going to let herself become lost in sadness. In the two years since the attack, the mother of three successfully took on Congress and made an emotional trip to visit troops in Iraq.
Yesterday, I asked her how she was able to remain strong through it all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GINNY BAUER, 9/11 WIDOW: You don't have a choice, and initially, of course, you're in shock. So, everything was so surreal at that time. I didn't even realize it was a terrorist attack until days later. All I knew was that a plane had hit the building, and he was gone. And actually, when I saw the plane hit the building, I knew right away. I knew he was there.
O'BRIEN: The 105th floor, you knew it was over.
BAUER: Yes, I had just spoken to him minutes before, so I knew he was in his office. So, in my heart, I knew.
O'BRIEN: You have three children, teenagers.
BAUER: Yes. Yes.
O'BRIEN: And you got very politically involved. Over the last two years, that's where you put a lot of your focus.
BAUER: I did.
O'BRIEN: Why did you want to do that? Was that part of the healing process for you?
BAUER: It must have been. Initially, I'm not sure, but I knew that right afterwards I just felt a need to take care of my family, take care of my three children. And to sit and do nothing was not an option. And I had never been politically active. But I came across this bill, and it was just an idea at that time, and to me it made sense. It was simple. We had financial concerns, all of the families, and I thought this would be a way to, as I used to say, call it a band-aid to just sort of get us through that financial mirage until we had a better understanding of what our situation would be.
O'BRIEN: I think you're being very humble, because you had a lot more success than many elected officials actually end up having.
BAUER: Well...
O'BRIEN: Tell me about the bill a little in more depth.
BAUER: Thank you. I did, but I also recognized there was a lot of sympathy and sentiment, and yes. But I was a somewhat pushy broad. I made sure we got it down. We went down to Washington. I lobbied to Congress. And I think...
O'BRIEN: No taxes.
BAUER: Pardon me? Yes, what it provided was a federal tax exemption for the year that the families died -- or the victim died, and the year prior to that. It's mirrored to something that's given to people in the armed forces. And as I said, to me it was just a remedy. And actually, it's turned out to be a very financial source of revenue for the families.
So, it was very significant, but we insisted. We needed to know right away. We couldn't wait. There were too many what ifs that we didn't know. This bill could be done quickly.
O'BRIEN: And then you went to Baghdad.
BAUER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Why? What drew you there?
BAUER: Well...
O'BRIEN: I mean, again, you're now a single mother with teenagers...
BAUER: Yes, right.
O'BRIEN: ... which is a really tricky time in their lives.
BAUER: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Why did you feel the need to go over there?
BAUER: Well, I was actually very privileged to have been invited. I was one of three family members that were included to go in this group. It was called Project Salute. And it was part of a USO tour, and there was a host of celebrities and professional athletes.
O'BRIEN: John Simos (ph)...
BAUER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: His wife was there as well. BAUER: Yes. Rebecca, Gary Sinease (ph), Robert de Niro. And, you know, I think there was an immediate chemistry between us, the family members, as well as obviously everybody else involved with the tour, and these young soldiers. And it was just an incredible experience. It was something I will treasure the rest of my life.
O'BRIEN: Well, as you look backward to that day two years ago, and forward as well, where do you see all of the widows' lives going? Do you think years down the road people will say it's an event that changed us all, but in some ways in a good way?
BAUER: Well, you hate to think there's any good from this, but certainly adversity brings you strength. I have been amazed and encouraged by so many of the widows that I've met that really are remarkably strong people, that are trying to make the best of their situation.
And I have said this before, and I truly mean this, I think the greatest tribute to my husband and to all of the families -- or all of the people who died on September 11 is to be better than I ever was before, live my life to the fullest, to really treasure everyday because you never know what's going to happen. And I intend to live by that.
(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 September 11, 2003 - 07:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Today, we tell you the story of one widow of the 9/11 attacks. It takes a person of courage to turn a tragedy like that into something positive.
David Bauer was a sales director at Canter Fitzgerald. He died in the World Trade Center. And his wife, Ginny, decided that she wasn't going to let herself become lost in sadness. In the two years since the attack, the mother of three successfully took on Congress and made an emotional trip to visit troops in Iraq.
Yesterday, I asked her how she was able to remain strong through it all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GINNY BAUER, 9/11 WIDOW: You don't have a choice, and initially, of course, you're in shock. So, everything was so surreal at that time. I didn't even realize it was a terrorist attack until days later. All I knew was that a plane had hit the building, and he was gone. And actually, when I saw the plane hit the building, I knew right away. I knew he was there.
O'BRIEN: The 105th floor, you knew it was over.
BAUER: Yes, I had just spoken to him minutes before, so I knew he was in his office. So, in my heart, I knew.
O'BRIEN: You have three children, teenagers.
BAUER: Yes. Yes.
O'BRIEN: And you got very politically involved. Over the last two years, that's where you put a lot of your focus.
BAUER: I did.
O'BRIEN: Why did you want to do that? Was that part of the healing process for you?
BAUER: It must have been. Initially, I'm not sure, but I knew that right afterwards I just felt a need to take care of my family, take care of my three children. And to sit and do nothing was not an option. And I had never been politically active. But I came across this bill, and it was just an idea at that time, and to me it made sense. It was simple. We had financial concerns, all of the families, and I thought this would be a way to, as I used to say, call it a band-aid to just sort of get us through that financial mirage until we had a better understanding of what our situation would be.
O'BRIEN: I think you're being very humble, because you had a lot more success than many elected officials actually end up having.
BAUER: Well...
O'BRIEN: Tell me about the bill a little in more depth.
BAUER: Thank you. I did, but I also recognized there was a lot of sympathy and sentiment, and yes. But I was a somewhat pushy broad. I made sure we got it down. We went down to Washington. I lobbied to Congress. And I think...
O'BRIEN: No taxes.
BAUER: Pardon me? Yes, what it provided was a federal tax exemption for the year that the families died -- or the victim died, and the year prior to that. It's mirrored to something that's given to people in the armed forces. And as I said, to me it was just a remedy. And actually, it's turned out to be a very financial source of revenue for the families.
So, it was very significant, but we insisted. We needed to know right away. We couldn't wait. There were too many what ifs that we didn't know. This bill could be done quickly.
O'BRIEN: And then you went to Baghdad.
BAUER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Why? What drew you there?
BAUER: Well...
O'BRIEN: I mean, again, you're now a single mother with teenagers...
BAUER: Yes, right.
O'BRIEN: ... which is a really tricky time in their lives.
BAUER: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Why did you feel the need to go over there?
BAUER: Well, I was actually very privileged to have been invited. I was one of three family members that were included to go in this group. It was called Project Salute. And it was part of a USO tour, and there was a host of celebrities and professional athletes.
O'BRIEN: John Simos (ph)...
BAUER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: His wife was there as well. BAUER: Yes. Rebecca, Gary Sinease (ph), Robert de Niro. And, you know, I think there was an immediate chemistry between us, the family members, as well as obviously everybody else involved with the tour, and these young soldiers. And it was just an incredible experience. It was something I will treasure the rest of my life.
O'BRIEN: Well, as you look backward to that day two years ago, and forward as well, where do you see all of the widows' lives going? Do you think years down the road people will say it's an event that changed us all, but in some ways in a good way?
BAUER: Well, you hate to think there's any good from this, but certainly adversity brings you strength. I have been amazed and encouraged by so many of the widows that I've met that really are remarkably strong people, that are trying to make the best of their situation.
And I have said this before, and I truly mean this, I think the greatest tribute to my husband and to all of the families -- or all of the people who died on September 11 is to be better than I ever was before, live my life to the fullest, to really treasure everyday because you never know what's going to happen. And I intend to live by that.
(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.
