Remembering September 11 25 Years Later: The Heroes and Bravery, and the Moments That Shaped America

Hey everyone, I'm Megan Kelly. Welcome. to the Megan Kelly show. On this somber. anniversary, the 25-y year mark since. 911 2001, the date America changed forever and a. date that many of us who were around at. the time remember all too well. It is. seared in our memories and will be. forever more. The closest thing that's happened akin. to it would have been Pearl Harbor and. our parents or grandparents generation.

uh had a clear memory of that one and. made sure that the rest of us understood. what happened on that day that lived in. infamy and those of us who remember 911. 2001 have an obligation to make sure. that everyone remembers that date too. Already with the information age upon. us, it's too easy to forget. It's too. easy to be consumed by other things. It's too easy to be over on TikTok and. hearing vignettes about how Bin Laden.

had a point. And so those of us who. believe, "No, Bin Laden did not have a. point," need to remind people, especially the younger generation, many. of whom consume shows like this one and. podcasts and so on, that. there was good and evil that day. And we. were the good. We were not the evil. This is not to say America's never done. wrong on the international front or in. its foreign policy, but there is no.

question that there were terrorists and. there were heroes on the day of 9/11. And the Americans who were attacked and. fought valiantly for their lives and for. others lives were the heroes. We were attacked by radical Islamic. jihadists. who had all sorts of beefs with America. Yes, they were upset about certain. foreign policy decisions we had made, of. course, and we need to be cognizant of.

that. But they they did loathe the. freedoms of the United States and the. way we choose to live. Some people will. mock that idea now. It's not mockable. It was one of the things they hated. about us. And we've learned that as. we've learned more about the terrorist. motives, we've learned that. um foreign interventionism is not a. great idea and a lot of people oppose it. for this very reason. But that's not. what today is about. At least not for. me. It's about the Americans who were.

innocent and who were living the kind of. lives you and I are living right now. getting up in the morning, getting their. kids off to school, kissing them. goodbye, going into the workplace to try. to lead a productive life where you feel. like you've added something to this. world and then go back home to your. family at the end if you're lucky. That's all they were doing. They were. regular men and women working in those. towers and at the Pentagon and on board. Flight 93.

who didn't consider themselves. extraordinary and certainly didn't. consider themselves to be soldiers in. some sort of a war. And the horror that was unleashed upon. them was almost too much to repeat. out loud to to actually articulate. But I don't there's something cathartic. about doing it because in the back of. your memory if you were alive that day. you know you were a witness to a seinal.

event in American history and you have. it there. under layer upon layer upon layer and. being reminded of what we all went. through is somewhat cathartic because. it's an affirmation that yes we do have. this shared history. Yes, we did learn a. few lessons, more than a few from that. horrific event. And we owe it to the men. and women who suffered, died, and were.

heroic on that day to be cognizant of. what they went through and how it did. change us. individually and as a country. So, we're going to go through some of. that today, beginning [music] with the actual. attacks and how they went down. Don't miss a moment. Subscribe to this. show on YouTube and follow me on Insta, Facebook, and X. Our sponsor, the. Electronic Payments Coalition, says.

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mandates would let corporate mega stores. cut corners on credit card processing, routing transactions over cheaper, untested networks with weaker security. and fewer protections. Find out more at. guardyoucard.com. and consider telling Congress to guard. your card. And I'll tell you that on September. 11th, 2001, [music]. I had just moved from New York City, not. long before that, to Chicago. And when I had been in New York as a. young practicing lawyer, I had been.

living at 71 Broadway, which was right. by the World Trade Center. It's right. next to Trinity Church, if you know, southern Manhattan. And uh. the the World Trade Center was my view. I used to joke with people who would. come to visit me that you never had to. leave the house in order to say you had. seen Manhattan from my from my apartment. because while it was a small 800 foot. apartment, it had a great view and uh. you could see Wall Street and you could. see the World Trade Center and you could.

see Trinity Church and uh you could see. the grave of Alexander Hamilton uh in. Trinity Church Cemetery. all without leaving your house. And you. can see the American stock exchange, too. New York and American both. And I used to go over to the Twin Towers. all the time. I mean, it was my. neighborhood Starbucks was in there. So, I'd go over, I'd set up shop and I'd. have a cup of coffee and I'd read the. paper on the weekends and settle in, maybe read a book. Um, Barnes & Noble,

not Starbucks. There was a Starbucks in. the Barnes & Noble, but it was Barnes &. Noble that I was going over to um the. bookstore. And I'll never forget reading the Ken. Star report there under the Clinton. presidency. I mean, that's how long ago. this was when I was living there and. cover to cover. It was such a riveting. drop of information long before I was in. news. I was, you know, as I said, a. young lawyer, young litigator, uh, practicing law. And I would go. downstairs at 71 Broadway. And my train.

was right there, the 45. I would catch. it to Midtown and work as a litigator. for Jones Day. That was my life up until. just a few months before 9/11. And by. the grace of God, I had moved to the. Chicago office just prior. And I say that because while I. understood I my my license read 71. Broadway on the day of 911 and I. remember I I used it because you were. allowed to go back into the area. You. weren't allowed to go into southern. Manhattan unless you had you could prove.

that you lived there. And uh it was a. disaster zone of course, but my building. had been used to stage. um not rescues, but it was used to. welcome in fleeing citizens, fleeing New. Yorkers trying to get away from the. debris. And people went into this. building, which was all concrete and. iron. and part of one of the planes that. had been used as a bomb landed on the.

roof of the building. So, that's how close we were. And it was. very personal. And I I do thank God that. I wasn't there when this happened for. many reasons, not the least of which is. the poison air, the poison water, the poisonous substances everywhere that. plagued lower Manhattan for years after. the fact. to the full extent of which. we're just now learning more about. But. there have been thousands thousands of. New Yorkers who have died in the.

aftermath of the poisoning of ground. zero and the related areas down in lower. Manhattan. So I feel like I was one of the lucky. ones to have moved out just before this. happened. It's um. it's awful what people had to go. through. We count the souls that died in. the towers in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon that day. But we too. often forget to count all the people who. died as a result of the cleanup at.

ground zero and the pollution that. happened after ground zero that infected. so many, not to mention the blood and. treasure spent on the fields of. Afghanistan and Iraq. This is what happened. At 6:45 a.m. that morning at Boston's. Logan International Airport, Muhammad. Ata and four Saudi nationals checked in. for flight 11 bound from Boston to Los. Angeles. That was no accident. The two.

planes that were flown into the World. Trade Center were both from Boston bound. for Los Angeles. That was because they. wanted the the most fuel, the planes. that would be full of the most fuel. They wanted to use them as bombs. And. they knew that they needed fuel to make. them ignite and burn as much as. possible. The third flight, um, United. Flight, or sorry, American Airlines. flight 77 was out of Dallas, headed. cross country to Los Angeles. And flight.

93. started at Newark Airport in New Jersey, taking off for San Francisco. So they. were all transcontinental cross-country. flights full of fuel and innocent. Americans. Muhammad Ata. uh as I mentioned boarded. flight 11 bound for Los Angeles. He was. personally selected by bin Laden for the. mission. He was the commander. He was. said to be nervous in the airport. sweating and profusely. The clerk who.

checked him in later said his forehead. was drenched. Um, three of the men were identified by. the computer as potentially suspicious. Their nationality, plus their travel. movements, plus if they were also. sweating, I'm sure it was a tell. Their. bags were x-rayed. Nothing suspicious. was found. It's amazing if you think about it. Flight 11 had 11 crew members and 81. passengers, including the five. hijackers.

At 6:50 a.m., 5 minutes later, United Airlines representative Gail. Jawahir. was repeating the standard security. questions about luggage to two nervous. UAE nationals. as they struggle to understand her. They. were part of a fiveman Al-Qaeda unit, all with tickets for the LA bound flight. 175, United Airlines flight 175. On that. flight, there were nine crew, 56.

passengers, including the five. hijackers. Again, both flights going. from Boston to LA. At 7:30 a.m., this is all happening. within 45 minutes. 400 miles away at. Washington Dallas, Saudi brothers Nawaf and Salern Alhazmi. ran into the terminal late to catch. American Airlines Flight 77. They had. only one small bag. One set off two. metal detectors, so a security guard. checked him with a hand wand. Again, it.

picked up nothing suspicious. On board American Airlines Flight 77. were six crew, 58 passengers, including. five hijackers. At 8:14 a.m., 15 minutes into flight 11. its journey, the hijack began. They were intentionally beginning these. hijackings about 15 minutes into the. flight. We'll get to this later, but. they had done, we believe, test runs, and they understood that about 15.

minutes into the flight was when the. cockpit would be unlocked. They knew. what they were doing. The hijack began on board flight 11. Ata and the other terrorists sprayed. mace into the first class cabin, claimed. they had a bomb, trying to force the. passengers to the rear of the plane. where they would not bother the. hijackers. Passenger Daniel Leuen, a. former Israeli commando, bravely tried to intervene, but had his.

throat slit by one of the terrorists, who then forced their way into the. cockpit, killed or disabled the two. pilots, and Muhammad Ata was at the. controls. At 8:19 a.m. at the rear of flight 11, the flight attendant, Betty Ang used a. seatback airphone to call the American. Airlines office. And her calm, cool, professional demeanor and the way she. handled the worst of circumstances has.

made her one of the heroes of that day. It would be the first eyewitness account. of the terror of 9/11. [clears throat]. She called and reported the hijacking. and we have part of that on tape. >> The cockpit's not answering. Somebody's. stabbed in business class and um I think. there's mate that we can't breathe. I. don't know. I think we're getting. hijacked. >> Is that American 11 trying to call? >> We have some planes. Just stay quiet and.

you'll be okay. We're returning to the. airport. >> And who's trying to call me here? American 11, are you trying to call? >> Nobody move. Everything will be okay. If. you try to make any move yourself and. the airplane just stay quiet. So, you heard Betty there and then you. heard the voice of Muhammad Ata as well. He tried to pacify the passengers. over the cockpit intercom, but he didn't.

know how to operate it. So, only Boston. air traffic control actually heard him. The first part of the message was a bit. unclear, but then he says, "Nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to. make any moves, you'll endanger yourself. in the airplane. Just stay quiet, trying. to get compliance. so he could do what he had in mind." By. the way, I'm reading these details in. part uh from a Daily Mail account of the. Tik Tok of 911, which is excellent. The. Daily Mail is a great publication.

At 8:42 that morning at Newark Airport. in New Jersey, United Airlines Flight 93. would take off bound for San Francisco. On board, five attendants, 32. passengers, and three Saudi terrorists. and their Lebanese leader, Zed Jara. He's in seat 1B, closest to the cockpit. The terrorists were actually a man short. on that plane as one was refused entry. in August by a suspicious immigration.

inspector doing his job. So they were manned down which would. become relevant of course as we know. because flight 93 is famous for what its. passengers did by the time that flight. was hijacked and in in the air. The. others had already been used as weapons. and the passengers were aware of that. And the courage of the passengers on. board that flight is second to no story. in US history.

At 8:45 a.m. on United Airlines Flight. 175, the seat belt light went off and. the hijackers leapt up, stabbed a flight. attendant, and stormed the cockpit, killing the pilots. Meanwhile, flight 11, the first flight, the one with Muhammad Ata, was. approaching New York at high speed. Again, it had started in Boston. Um, there is.

one passenger on board the plane who. speaks to actually I think it's a flight. attendant, Amy Sweeney, uh, who says to. her manager on the ground, "Something's. wrong. We're in a rapid descent. We are. all over the place. The manager asks her. to look out the window to find out where. they are. She said, "I see water. I see. buildings. We're flying very, very low.". After a pause, she says quietly, "Oh my. god, we're way too low.".

They were traveling at over 460 mph. And at that speed, flight 11 crashed. into the north tower of the World Trade. Center, spilling 10,000 gallons of fuel, which exploded in a fireball, causing. the building to lean, then write itself, and force the the people inside of it, many of them, to think they were going. into the river. Eyewitnesses would say it felt like like. an earthquake, like the building was.

swaying and was likely to go down to. topple. That's not exactly what happened as you. know. And that moment of flight 11 crashing. into the north tower of World Trade was. caught on tape in an extraordinary. moment. uh where I mean the. now we have a couple of videos of it, but the one is actually really. incredibly clear because there was a.

film crew from the fire department. shooting the um the they were addressing. a gas leak and the fire fighter turned. the camera upward and showed us just. happened to show us that moment of. flight 11. This was there was a rule at. Fox News after 911 that we never showed. this. Roger didn't want to show. the terrorists. work, the their proudest moment.

And so we were very very cautious in the. early years at Fox. I mean I joined in. 2004 about ever showing the moment of. the planes impacting 911 uh impacting. the buildings on 911. Now 25 years. later, we will show it. Um, enough time. has passed that doesn't feel as jarring. and wrong as it did then. Um, but only. once. Here it is. >> Business class. And um, I think there's. mates that we can't breathe. I don't.

know. I think we're getting high. Something somebody hit the World Trade. Center or the. >> It's a trade center. >> World Trade Center. >> There's a fire on the upper [music]. floors. >> This just in. You were 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 the World. Trade Center. We don't know anything. more than that. We don't know if it was. a [music] commercial aircraft. We have. no idea. >> Those of us watching television that. morning. didn't know what had happened. Mo most. of us were hearing news anchors. speculate about it possibly being a prop. plane. No one could quite digest the. information that this could be a. commercial airliner. And of course that.

video was not yet public and no one had. it. So we didn't have the advantage of. being able to see video of the actual. plane hitting. But there was me much. speculation about this being a prop. plane that you know like a somebody's. private plane that just wasn't in was. errant in flight and caused an accident. And there was speculation. You know, I have to say John Scott of. Fox News was one of the ones who got it. right from the start. He he mentioned.

that it looked like terrorism. And then. as soon as that second plane hit the. South Tower, he said, "This has to be. terrorism." And he said, "The name that. comes to mind is Osama bin Laden.". He he had a place in Roger Al's heart. forever more after that. He. It was just an extraordinary thing to be. able to call in the moment while you're. on the air. And uh he was the only one.

who did it that I recall. Maybe somebody. else didn't. I'm not giving them credit. someplace else, but John Scott, to his. credit, had it right from the start. Inside the North Tower, of course, absolute hell had been unleashed. the the burning plane fuel, the fires. set inside, the instant death of course to those on. the floors affected, but the [snorts]. heat and the smoke would affect and kill.

so many more. And some of their stories. are just absolutely harrowing. Um, we do have some of them. Some people. called, some people talked as they were. suffering from the north tower and the. south tower. There's an image. that is iconic in in its own way from. 911 called the falling man. And um.

the falling man was taken by. photographer Richard Drew. He published. it of a man who looks almost to be. gracefully falling. uh from the tower, the north tower, we. believe. And we do believe per the. Associated Press that while they haven't. completely established who appears in. Richard Drew's photograph, they believe. it is possibly a man named Jonathan. Bryley who was 43 and an audio. technician at Windows on the World,

which was the restaurant near the top of. the North Tower. I went there many. times. He was ordained as a deacon at First. Baptist Church of Elmsford just a few. months prior to 911. [snorts] And uh he. had left his home early on September. 11th, kissed his sleeping wife goodbye. And one of the reasons they believe it. might have been him is because his. family members, if you see, there are. many pictures of him of the of the. falling man. And you can make out some. of his features, skin color, some facial.

hair potentially, his build. And his. family said they they believe his sister. said it it does look like him. Truth be. told, it did look like him. She said she. no longer looks at the photograph, however. You can understand why. But. they also gleaned it might have been him. because he the or the the the falling. man appears to be wearing an orange. undershirt. um underneath his work shirt and Riley. frequently wore one beneath a white. shirt.

The sister said of not just possibly her. brother, but of all the so-called. jumpers. because they were facing such an awful. fate inside that tower as it burned that. it was truly a question of either dying. by fire, heat, smoke inhalation in a. manner of torture or jumping. And some untold number of them chose. jumping. Some fell. The numbers are not.

known, but the estimates are possibly as. many as 200. And those who were on the base of the. tower walking around trying to save. their lives, trying to save save others. have horrific stories of when the bodies. came down and the sounds that that would. make and the and the fright to those who. died who were on the on the ground. At. at least one person was died was killed. by one of the bodies that came out of. the window. Um,

that picture has become so well known. and representative of the horror that. people face that day, innocent people. who were just trying to do their jobs. and go to work. But the this man. Brighley's sister said her belief about. those who fell or jumped, what whichever. their fate was, was as follows. quote, "I believe that all of those individuals. that jumped were caught. Their spirits. were caught.

I believe that, too." And that's a very. healthy way of looking at what happened. that day. There's. what kind of a loving God wouldn't catch. them? I don't I just I I love the way she put. it and I agree. Richard Drew said that. the picture drew complaints when. newspapers published it. In his. retrospective, which he published, he. described readers anger and editors.

reluctance to show it. His own. explanation was quote, "I made a. photographic record of someone living. the last moments of his life, and every. time I look at it, I see him alive.". Some of those who jumped held hands. Um, one man had a briefcase. and one woman. jumped and held her skirt down to.

maintain her modesty. And that simple act of dignity. would be played. in the heads of the Navy Seals and. special forces who years later, 10 years. later would be on their way to Abadabad, Pakistan. about to kill the man who unleashed that. hell on America, Osama bin Laden. When the show launched, the first year.

we were audio only and I did what was. easily one of my favorite interviews of. my life, which was with Rob O'Neal, Navy. Seal, Sil Team Six, and the Man Who Shot. Bin Laden. It if you haven't heard this. entire interview, I urge you to go back. and listen to it. If you just Google Rob. O'Neal, Megan Kelly. 2020 or 2021, it'll come up. if you have. a two-hour drive and you just want to. listen to the the story of Rob O'Neal,

it's just well worth your time. But he. spoke of that woman. Listen, >> before we left, I had one of my guys. say, um, because we accept the death. That's it. We're we're going to die. He. said, "Don't take this the wrong way. because I'm 100% going. Don't worry. about that. I'm going. I just need to. say it out loud. If we know we're going. to die, why are we going?". And and so we had a conversation and we. had a conversation. We said, "Okay, well, we're not going after Bin Laden.

for the fame or the reward. um or the bravado. We are going after. Osama bin Laden for the single mom who. dropped her kids off at elementary. school on a Tuesday and 45 minutes later. she jumped to her death out of a. skyscraper because that was a better. alternative than whatever the hell was. going on inside at 2500 degrees. Fahrenheit. And her last gesture of. human decency was holding her skirt as. she jumped out of a building and. murdered herself. She was never supposed. to be in the fight. We're supposed to be.

in the fight. That's why we're going. >> Amazing. That's the American spirit right there. That guy and the guys with him and the. women at the CIA who worked to find Bin. Laden for that matter. That's what makes. me proud to be an American. Those are the ones I remember on an. anniversary like this.

A 25-y year mark, if you will. Back to the timeline. At 8:42 a.m. at Newark Airport, United. Airlines Flight 93 took off for San. Francisco. On board, five attendants, 32. passengers, three Saudi terrorists. As I. said, this would be the flight that. would be brought down by the passengers. in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and would change history by doing so. To.

this day, we don't have full. confirmation where that flight was bound. for. Many believe it was the US capital. We would have been changed forever had. they hit the US capital building and. that enormous dome that absolutely. defines the DC skyline was gone. Not to. mention the loss of life that that would. have entailed. So the North Tower.

was hit. [snorts] at 8:46 a.m. that morning. At 8:50 that morning on Flight 77, the. terrorists used box cutters to get into. the cockpit and knives to kill and stab. the crew. Their target was the Pentagon. Their target was the Pentagon. At 8:52. a.m., flight 175. was heading for New York City from. Boston. Peter Hansen, who was traveling. with his wife and 2-year-old daughter,

called his father, Lee, and told him. that the plane was flying erratically. People have been stabbed, he says. And. to call United Airlines, little. Christine Lee Hansen, just two years old. and on board that plane. just not for nothing, but you do have. these young Americans with, as I. mentioned over on TikTok talking about. how Bin Laden had a point, as I said, or. Hassan Park per this leftist podcaster.

said, "America deserved 911.". You look at Christy Christine Lee Hansen. and you tell me that he's since tried to. walk it back. Who would utter such a. thing to begin with? Who would utter. such a thing ever? You look at Christine. Lee Hansen and you tell me that she. deserved it. off. At 8:57 a.m., more than 230 firefighters. were on their way to the scene, many off. duty, going straight from their homes. It is the largest ready rescue in the.

city's history. The fire chief, Peter. Hayden, later recalled, "We had a very. strong sense that we would lose. firefighters and that we were in deep. trouble.". And indeed, that would be the case. New York City. lost 441 first responders that day. 441. The the toll was absolutely stunning. More than 12,000 FDNY members later. diagnosed with a 911 related illness.

12,000 the police and firefighters. The. the reports of the firefighters running. up the stairs while people ran down as. they evacuated the building trying to. save their own lives and the the faces. of these firefighters, old and young. amongst them, running up toward the. danger. That's what defines America and. that day. Good and evil, heroes and terrorists.

As the police chief in New York said. this week, let's be really clear who was. who. They knew. They knew that they were driving down, racing down, walking up to their likely deaths, and. they did it anyway. That's true courage. That's. I was going to say inhuman courage, but. it's not. That's that's the beauty of. it. It It is human courage. They knew. the dangers better than anybody, better.

than we did, better than we ever could, and they did it anyway. At 9:00 a.m., Boston Air Traffic Control. listens back to the first transmission. from Ata, which had been hard to. understand, and they are stunned to hear him say, "We have some planes." Some planes. So, it's plural. It's plural now. Lee Hansen at 9:03.

gets another call from his son Peter on. flight 175. He says, quote, "I think we. are going down. I think they intend to. go to Chicago or some place and fly into. a building. Don't worry, Dad. If it. happens, it'll be very fast.". Lee hears a woman scream on his son's. end of the phone. And then he hears his. son, Peter, say, "My God, my God.". Peter's mother said later, "We heard his. first cries and his last ones.".

Lee Hansen looks at the television and. sees his son plane, his son's plane. disintegrate. The right engine pierces. the entire tower and lands five blocks. away. Here is that moment when at 9:03. that morning, September 11th, 2001, flight 175 hit the south tower of the. World Trade Center.

>> [sighs and gasps]. >> The South Tower was so badly. torn up that it was hit second but would.

go down first. And the stories are. legion of people who were in the South. Tower watching what was going on in the. North Tower and calling their loved ones. saying, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Don't. worry, I'm okay." They were evacuating. the south tower, but people were and. they were alarmed, but they were relieved that it wasn't. their tower and they were proceeding to. exit the building when this happened. Many of them, it was just a devastating injury. And of.

course, Bin Laden later famously said it. it worked even better, his plan, than he. had expected [music] it would. He was. very proud of that fact, till Rob O'Neal. put a bullet between his eyes. Hey, thanks for watching today's full. episode. If you're new here, throw us a. subscribe. See what you think. Stay in. touch. There's plenty more goodness. where this one came from. As always, we. really do value your feedback, so email. me, too. Megan megnancell.com. or just leave a comment down below. I do.

read them. I meander over and I scroll. through and I find them very. entertaining and really appreciate the. feedback. But in any event, join the. community by becoming a subscriber so. you miss nothing. We value your support. We may not always agree on positions, but as you know, I'm very open-minded to. people who disagree with me. That's how. I learn. So, thanks. And thanks for. trusting us to always talk about it. openly, honestly, and with provocative. conversations. We've all heard those. radio ads about owing money to the IRS.

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President Bush was reading to a class of. children, being watched by reporters as. he did it. The White House chief of. staff at the time, Andy Card, famously. whispers in his ear, "America is under. attack.". The president decided not to rush out. He didn't want, he said later, to scare. the children and send ripples of panic. throughout the country. uh press secretary at the time, Ari. Flecher, was standing in front of the. media holding up a sign that read,

"Don't say anything yet.". They didn't want to cause a panic there. They didn't want to upset the children. The president sat for seven minutes as. the children read out loud. President would have plenty to say just. a short time after. Um, at 9:20, so 12 minutes after he'd. been told, President Bush delivered a. hastily written statement as follows. Well, we have it. Let's watch.

>> Today, we've had a national tragedy. Uh, two airplanes. have crashed into the World Trade Center. in an apparent terrorist attack on our. country. Terrorism against our nation. will not stand. And now, if you join me in a moment of. silence, may God bless the victims, their. families, and America. Thank you very. much.

[applause]. Everything changed for George Bush. personally and professionally from that. point. He did not run on foreign policy. No one wanted to deal with foreign. policy. much in the same way we're. feeling these days. But it was forced. upon him and he became a wartime. president in that moment. It was heavily. criticized for the seven minutes. But I. understand the instinct. You want to be. cool. You want to be in command. You.

want to project calm, which he was very. good at, by the way. And then when. George Bush found his footing after. those moments, he was pitch perfect on. his messaging around that event. I mean, George Bush standing in the rubble of. the fallen towers. in the days after with the firefighters. still looking for the remains of their. friends and comrades and innocent.

civilians. changed the entire country's opinion of. him with that moment behind the. megaphone. Here it is. >> Thank you all. WE GOT HIM. GEORGE, >> I UH I want you all to know. >> we can't go any louder. [laughter]. >> I want you all to know. that America today, America today.

is on bended knee in prayer for the. people whose lives were lost here. For. the workers who work here, for the. families who mourn, this nation stands. with the good people of New York City. and New Jersey and Connecticut. as we mourn the loss of thousands of our. citizens. >> I can hear you.

I can hear you. The rest of the world. hears you. And the PEOPLE. [cheering]. And the people who knocked these. buildings down, we'll hear all of us. soon. [applause and cheering]. USA. USA.

[cheering]. >> INCREDIBLE. Absolutely incredible. Not pre-written. for him. Complete instinct. And what a moment. You had to hold on to. it. There were moments after this. happened that mattered. That really. mattered. that sort of became the. defining images. in addition to what we'd seen that. morning of the tragedy. That was one of. them. Congress.

singing. outside. I'll get to that in a moment. I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the morning in question. 9:28. a.m. Flight 93. All four hijackers storm. the cockpit and air traffic control can. hear the sound of a struggle over the. radio. Leroy Homer shouts desperately, "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!" Then the radio goes. quiet for 35 seconds, then another. frantic transmission. "Hey, get out of. here. Get out of here. Get out of here.". This is the cockpit.

At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight. 77, again, this was the one going out of. Dallas, carrying 64 people from. Washington to Los Angeles, crashed into. the west side of the Pentagon. Watch. >> We're looking at a live picture from. Washington [music]. and there is smoke pouring out of the. Pentagon. It would appear that there has. been another major explosion. This one. in the nation's capital. There [music].

is smoke in the air over the Pentagon. >> At this point, when you were watching at. home on television, you didn't know what. was happening. The plane hitting the. Pentagon never had a picture perfect. video the way the World Trade Center. had. And so it was a question about. whether a bomb had gone off there. Um. there was like a car bomb or there was. something else. And there was a false. report of a car bomb um as memory serves.

outside of the Pentagon. So we were. confused and then you didn't know is. this is a copycat? Is it related? because you weren't sure if it was a. plane in the initial reporting of what. happened at the Pentagon. And indeed, it. was a plane. Um, and it had the wife of the. solicitor, the US solicitor general, Ted. Olsen. His wife, Barbara Olsen, was on. board the plane. He would speak so. eloquently about her in all the years. thereafter. But it was carrying 64 people and it was.

bound for Los Angeles, too, crashing. into the west side of the Pentagon. And. there is an a stunning memorial at the. Pentagon to this day there. 13 minutes later at 9:50 a.m. one of the. most horrific moments in US history. happened. One World Trade Center at the South. Tower would collapse. Here's that. moment. This is as close as we can get to the. base of the World Trade Center. You can.

see the firemen assembled here, the. police officers, FBI agents, and you can. see the two towers. A huge explosion. now, raining debris on all of us. We. better get out of the way.

The amount of carnage. was unspeakable. and everyone watching at home, the news. anchors covering it, everyone knew the. loss of life would be immense. One of the saving graces on that day was. that it could have been worse. was relatively early in the day. New.

York sometimes get a gets a later start. and it could have been worse. Um, you know, the first planes hit early. before the entire crowd had arrived at. at one and two World Trade Center, but. of course the loss of life would be. enormous. It was 2,977. killed, more than 6,000 injured. and and. that north tower, sorry, the south tower. falling first was a surprise, was a.

stunner. No, no one had anticipated. that, by the way. I mean, when you heard. the coverage, when you when you talk to. the firefighters, people were not. anticipating the buildings falling. That's why the firefighters were running. up. They knew they might get burned to. death. But when the towers fell, it was. such a foreign idea that they would that. they would implode, that they would. fall, that if you watch, for example, NBC, which I watched in part, I was. surfing like many people, they didn't. know, they didn't say the building. collapsed. There was quite a while there.

before the dust cleared and you could. see that it was no longer there that we. didn't know what happened. And you could. hear even the news reporter said, "Oh, there's a very loud noise like an. explosion. Sounded like an explosion.". I I remember it fell and then of course. the North Tower would fall and I was. married to my first husband at the time. or was about to be actually. We got. married that month, September 2001. Our. our wedding was later that month and uh.

he was a doctor in training. He was. doing a residency out at Northwestern. and he was in surgery as an. anesthesiologist and I did something I. never do which is I called him in the O. which you know you don't do but this was. so extraordinary and I remember he was. repeating what I was telling him to the. surgeons and to the O and I said that. the towers have fallen and he said what. do you mean I said the twin towers are. they they're gone they were attacked. planes have been flown into them and the.

towers are no longer standing. And he. was repeating this to a room full of. surgeons in the middle of a surgery and. no one could believe it. People thought. I had lost my mind. because we couldn't believe our eyes. It. it just it just you couldn't believe. your eyes. And you know, you've seen it in the old. movies, you know, from Home Alone to so. many others. The Twin Towers were the. crown jewel of the Manhattan skyline. This seems like a weird analogy, but.

it's in in the way that Titanic was the. unsinkable ship. The towers just seemed. indestructible. They seemed larger than. life. They were huge. They were. celebratory. They were absolutely a sign. of American capitalism and its might and. accomplishment. One of the reasons why. they were targeted. and it was just an impossible thing to. imagine. And yet there it was before our. very eyes. before the second tower would fall. At 10:03 that morning, flight 93 would.

crash into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and. the heroes on board that flight would. become household names. Todd Beamer, among others, decided to fight. They were making phone calls back to. their loved ones and in Todd's case to a. 911 operator, a supervisor named Lisa, and talking about their fears, what was.

happening, their plans. And it's because. of those phone calls that we know what. the passengers on board Flight 93 did. Todd Beamer spoke to Lisa Jefferson and. she would tell that story among other. times in an interview with CBS in 2011. Listen here side 18. >> When I took the call over, there was a. softspoken calm gentleman on the other. end. He told me that there's three.

people that have taken over the flight. That point I asked him his name. He told. me Todd Beamer. He was from Cranberry, New Jersey. Did you make a conscious. decision not to tell Todd about the. World Trade Center? Why? >> Yes. Um because I wanted him to have. hope. I wanted him to think that he. still had a chance. I didn't want him to. feel like it was just totally hopeless. and he definitely didn't have a choice. and he knew he was going to die. I. didn't want him to have that feeling. >> When he wanted to pray, was your sense.

then that that he knew that? >> Yes, I did. I felt that he knew at that. time because he had said, "Oh Jesus, help us." And then he said, "Lisa, would. you recite the Lord's Prayer with me. and I knew that he knew at that time. that. it wasn't much left for him to do.". >> What do you think that um this country. needs to know about the men and women. who were on board Flight 93? >> They're all heroes in my eyes. They.

really are. They all pitched together. and they did what they thought was the. best thing to do at that time. And um I. feel that Todd played a great role in. that because when he told the guys, "Are. you ready?" I assumed that they were. waiting on his queue. Then they. responded to him and he said, "Okay, let's roll.". >> And would you please help me welcome his. wife, Lisa Beamer, here tonight?

She called me that Saturday morning. I. told her, I said, "You have two boys, David and Andrew?" She said, "Yes, yes, I do." I said, "You're expecting your. third child?" She said, "Yes, he told. you all of that." I said, "Yes, he did.". And he wanted me to let you know that he. loved you and his family very much. And I gave her a message and kept my. promise. >> Wow.

Todd Beamer was 32 years old. He was. leaving for a one-day business trip to. San Francisco. He was deeply committed. to his family and to his Christian. faith. He and his wife Lisa, as you. heard, had two sons. Their daughter. Morgan was born January 2002. He did try unsuccessfully to reach Lisa, but couldn't. But then connected with an. operator, and she passed along his. messages. He had asked her to pray the. Lord's Prayer with him.

And then she heard him turn to the. others and say that famous phrase, "Are. you guys ready? Okay, let's roll.". It was Todd Beamer, Tom Bernett, Jeremy. Glick, Mark Bingham. They became four of. the best known names associated with the. resistance aboard United Flight 93. Brought down in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania instead of, we believe, in. the US capital. Incredible. Incredible. They stormed that cockpit.

and while they weren't able to save the. plane and those on board, who knows how. many lives they did save cuz that that. flight was not going to come down. peacefully in a field or anywhere. It. was going to be used as a weapon just as. the others were. And they stopped it. Um, back to the timeline, it would be another 26 minutes before. the second tower came down to World.

Trade Center, which was the North Tower. Again, this is the one that was hit. first, but came down second. And people. were trying inside still to be to get. out. People saw the firefighters going up in. the north tower. Phone calls were made [clears throat]. from the north and the south tower. before the collapses, some of which I'll. get to in a minute. But here is the. moment that the north towel tower went. down at 10:29 a.m.

Just awful. and absolutely unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. The young people who want to revisit. Bin Laden's thoughts about 9/11. try to skirt past all these pieces of.

tape and these stories because it's too. enjoyable to demonize America and blame. it for all of this. And we have many times on this show in. response to that nonsense played the 911. call of Kevin Cosgrove. He was 46 years. old. He was from West Icelip. He was a. husband and father of three. His eldest. son was 12 that day. He was a VP at Aon. Corp, which was on the 105th floor of.

the South Tower, about one of the worst. places you could be. He called 911 to. try to get help for himself and his. trapped colleagues. He told the operator that my wife, quote, thinks I'm all right. I called. and I said I was leaving the building. and that I was fine. And then bang, that's what happened. He told the operator that they were too. young to die. And that call. is on tape. It is disturbing. And you.

can hear at the end when the tower goes. down. Here it is. Kevin Cosg Gro, there's two of us in this office. We're. not ready to die, but it's getting bad. I'm trying to let them know where you. are. There's a fire, sir. Smoke there. 105 tall. All right, sit tight. We'll. get to you as soon as we can. Staying. up, but the smoke is building. That's. all we can do. We We are What floor you.

guys up to? We're getting there. We're. getting there. Doesn't seem like it, man. I got young kids. I understand. that. So, we're on the way. >> We have everybody. >> I know you do, but it doesn't seem like. it. We got you got lots of people up. here. >> I understand. And then you got lot. on the top. Smoke. We're on the floor. We're in a window. We had to breathe now. Can't see. I told. God the plug in from the list.

Does anybody else want to try in here? These young men, we're not ready to die. I'm telling my old I told you and said I. was leaving the building and I was fire. and bang. >> Hello. Hello. We're looking at the financial center. Two tables. Two broken windows.

Oh god. Oh, absolutely awful. He told the operator they were too young. to die and they were His.

remains were found. He was buried on. September 22nd, 2001. His obituary stated that he could often. be seen shoveling the walks of elderly. widows in winter and helping elderly. couples carry bulky packages throughout. the year. That was Kevin Cosgrove. who died an innocent. and not because Osama bin Laden had a. point. There was Melissa Doy, 32 years old from.

the Bronx. She was an only child. She. lived with her mother and loved to. dance. She had no children. She was a senior. manager at IQ Financial Systems. She was. in the South Tower. The right wing of. flight 175 had ripped into the 83rd. floor where Dey's office was located. She called 911 at 9:17. a.m. This 911 call would wind up being used. during the prosecution of Zacharias.

Mousawi, the only criminal trial to. result from the attacks would prove very. important. Here it is. >> Is it Is it [clears throat] Are they. going to be able to get somebody up. here? >> Of course, ma'am. We're coming up to. you. >> Well, THERE'S NO ONE HERE YET, AND THE. FLOOR IS COMPLETELY ENGULFED. We're on. the floor and we can't breathe. >> and it's very VERY VERY HOT. Everybody's. having trouble breathing. Some people. are worse. Some people unconscious. Everybody's awake. >> so far? Yes. But it's Listen, listen. Everybody's awake.

>> Yeah. Still conscious and it's very hot. there. But no fire, right? >> I can't see hot. Very hot. No fire for. now. And no smoke, right? No smoke, right? >> Of course there's smoke. >> Ma'am. Ma'am, you have to stay calm. >> There is smoke. I CAN'T BREATHE. >> OKAY. Stay calm with me. Okay, I. understand. >> I think there is FIRE BECAUSE IT'S VERY. HOT. >> OKAY, it it's very hot everywhere on the. floor. >> Okay, I know you don't see it and I. know, but we I'm going to document I'm. documenting what you say. Okay, it's. very hot. We see no fire, but you see.

smoke, right? >> It's very hot. I see I don't I SEE ANY. AIR ANYMORE. >> OKAY. >> All I see is smoke. >> Okay, dear. I'm so sorry. Hold on one. Stay calm with me. Stay calm. Listen, listen. The call is in. I'm documenting. I'm going to let those Hold on one. second, please. >> I'm going TO DIE, AREN'T I? >> NO. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. SAY I'm going to. die. Ma'am, say your prayers. And we're. not going to We're going to think. positive because you got to help each. other get off the floor now. >> Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay.

calm. You're doing a good job, ma'am. You're doing a good job. You're doing. trouble breathing. It's very hot. >> Help. >> That's what I'm doing. I'm just letting. you know. Hello, ma'am. Stay calm, ma'am. Ma'am, HELP. >> Stay calm. Stay calm. >> Can you Can you. >> I already did that on the line with you, please? >> Yes, ma'am. I am. >> Listen, take [laughter]. >> They're here.

>> Are they inside with you yet, dear? >> No. >> Okay. Stay calm till they get inside. >> Is that where they are? >> Ma'am, stay stay calm till they get. inside. >> My name is Evelyn. What? Ma'am. I don't think. >> Yes, ma'am.

You can't. make it ever. >> She had backed away from the phone for. that second portion of the call, which. is why she was a little tougher to hear, but she was saying, "Tell her she's the. best mom in the world. I love her with. all of my heart and soul. I will see her. in the next world. Tell her I love her. so much. I love her. She was the best. mother a person could ever have.". Melissa's remains were found 3 years.

after 9/11, but they were found. So, in. a way, her family was fortunate. Really stretching the use of that word, but so many families got nothing. They. got nothing back of their loved ones. And again, that 911 call would prove. very important. And I have to say like. what a shout out to the 911 operator. there and of course on with Todd Beamer. and others because they they didn't know. what to do or what to say. This is an.

unprecedented situation and sometimes. giving a person directives on what to do. in the literal moment like stay calm. like you this is what you have to do. You're you have to stay calm because. you're going to have to get out and. you're going to have to help people is. is a soothing bomb. Like give their mind. a purpose. give their give them an. active thing to focus on other than the. horror around them. I don't know if they. trained the 911 operators to do that, you know, as opposed to like she knew.

this person couldn't necessarily stay. calm, but I think the way she handled. like she stayed calm and she, you know, no, you're not going to die. You know, she talked to her. She said things, of. course, she couldn't possibly know, but. she was trying to keep a piece of mind. for poor Melissa, and she wouldn't have. known that these were her last moments, but she she would have known it was a. possibility. And she just showed a lot. of character and calm under pressure. and and the 911 operators are also.

unsung heroes of the day. Not to mention. the, you know, the electricians, the. workers, all of the the the laborers who. had to be there to clean up the mess at. ground zero. More than almost 10,000. people have died from related illnesses. after the attacks. The, as I said, 12,000 FDNY members diagnosed with a 911. related illness. In total, they're. putting it around be beyond that 95 thou. 9,500 people dying from related.

illnesses since the attacks. But those. firefighters, the numbers are so high. because they were there in ground zero. digging out day after day after day. I mean 10% of adults today were born. after 2001 and they have no memory of. this. This is only a story they know. from books. And in fact, um, there was a. poll that showed a majority of them, 18. to 24 today, say they first learned. about the attacks in class through. school work. They they didn't learn. about it from a family member. They. don't they don't know about it other.

than as part of US history. Something we're seeking to change with. programs like this and by keeping the. record. Keeping the record. There were harrowing tales of those who. did manage to escape. I'm going to tell. you two of them. One, Jojo. Capastro. Jojo Capastro, she spoke to the Daily. Mail and she survived 911 by descending. 87 flights in 21 minutes from the North.

Tower, escaping the collapse. Thank God. she's now 64. A photographer captured. this image as she fled for her life. She. is covered in soot. It is one of the. most famous images from 9/11 with. another person next to her. She is. barely recognizable, but she is the tall. one on the left who you can kind of tell. has blonde hair. It looks like it looks. like something out of World War II. It.

it it just it looks. impossible to have happened on the. streets of the United States of America. And yet. Jojo didn't feel well on the morning of. September 11th, reports the Mail. But. she told herself, "Just get up, get. coffee, get to work." By 8:30 a.m., she. was in her office at a boutique. investment banking and brokerage firm, the May Davis Group, on the 87th floor. of the North Tower. At 8:46 a.m., the. first plane hit. And again, it hit the. North Tower. But Jojo and her colleagues.

didn't know that. All they knew was that. something catastrophic had occurred, some sort of seismic impact. We rocked, she said. The whole building went back. and forth 1 2 3 4 5 six times. And then. we went forward and I thought we were. going into the river. I looked out the. window, she said. I saw someone in a. chair. I saw a briefcase. I saw a. fireball and smoke started to come into. the office. The race was on to get out. for Jojo and her colleagues. They. quickly established that two of the. three stairwells on their floor were.

blocked or melted shut. Can you imagine? While a colleague hacked some sort of a. passageway through the rubble, Jojo and. others dowsed clothing and water to make. masks before crawling on all fours out. into the dimly lit stairwell. Quote, "We. were on our hands and knees when tower 2. hit." Jojo said the second impact came. at 9:03 a.m. "I have to be very honest. with you," she said. "I thought I was. going to die. I felt something jump. inside me and push me to go.".

Push me to go. The stairs that they had. taken only went as far as the 78th. floor, a transition floor, which they. had to cross to transfer to another. staircase. This was a very, very common. tale of those trying to evacuate. I. remember the distinct smell of burnt. hair and burnt skin. There's fire. There's chaos. There's people screaming. There's injured people. There's dead. people. Each floor had a different. story, she said as they went down the. now more crowded stairwell. One would. have music. One would have a couple of.

people in wheelchairs. All around the. smell of gasoline. Jet fuel had doused. the building on impact. I remember on. the 65th floor, she said, there was a. man praying. And then we went down. another floor, and this breaks my heart. You saw the firemen coming up. We were going down on the right, and. they were coming up on the left, and you. saw the fear on their faces. And I'm. like, "Oh my god, they're walking right. into this. It's just absolutely incredible what the.

first responders did, what these guys. did, knowing the stakes, knowing they. had families of their own at home. And. not only once, many tales of these. firefighters and others like Wells. Crowther going up over and over and. staying trying to get people down to the. elevator bank, down to a safer floor, and then going back up the smoky. stairway to get more people at great. risk to themselves. By the third floor, Jojo recalled she.

began to see light and her instinct as. she neared it was to rush out onto the. concourse. It looked like a war zone. I. was in total shock. Then a jumper fell. right in front of me through the glass. and I fainted. When she came to a police officer, when. she came too, a police officer picked. her up and carried her again. A first. responder. When I got outside, I heard. her roar. It was the south tower coming. down and I started running. A priest.

grabbed me. A priest. came out of nowhere. Did he though? And pulled me under a car. and started to pray and all I heard was. bang bang bang on top of the car and I. was knocked unconscious. When she came around, everything was. white. I thought I had died and gone to. heaven. When she finally reached home. that day, she took off her clothes and. packed them away along with her shoes in. a box in the basement. She suffered. tremendous survivors guilt and still.

does to this day. I was single. I was 39. years old and my friend Harry had a. 2-year-old son and a one-month old. newborn. Why didn't they take me? Why. was I the chosen one? In 2018, when Jojo got married, she. asked Phil, the photographer who took. that photo, to be her wedding. photographer. Their friendship, close and easy, is. clear. Jojo put it simply, "If you didn't go.

through it, I find people just don't. understand. And Phil understands me. because Phil was there that day. Phil. saw me at the worst day of my life.". Jojo still works in the markets, reports. the Daily Mail. She's a wife, a. stepmother to four sons, and a. grandmother to 11. She'll be at the memorial on Friday this. week. Now, today, a place where she. finds peace and serenity. She said, "I'll go alone.

I have my 911 family down there waiting. for me.". Wow, what a woman. And that is I'm sure how they feel that. the other survivors and. those who survived someone who was. deceased are part of the same family, the same special club. And while they no longer have their work. colleagues, their friends, their family,

they have each other. They do. And they. insist that we remember this day and. what happened. and we honor that today. intentionally. Lauren Manning is another survivor of. 911. She was an executive working in World. Trade and. she was burned when the elevators. opened, the doors opened and a fireball.

completely encompassed her. She would come on my show at Fox News. and tell her story. It was absolutely. unforgettable. She was burned over her. entire body. But she's become a. motivational speaker. And in the. following clip in which she tells what. happened to her, you will see why. Lauren Manning, watch. >> The pain was unimaginable. The burn's. [music] grip was crushing. My hands were. so badly burned. They were two mits at.

the end of my arms. I realized [music]. that this was my moment and my choice. I [music] could keep fighting or I could. surrender. And I decided to live. And I knew that my only shot [music] was. across six lanes of highway where they. had recently laid a narrow strip of. grass. Everything else [music] was. cement and macadam. All I could think of as I began to run. across that highway which [music] seemed.

to last forever. was my son. >> Absolutely unbelievably inspirational. She goes on to make the point when she. speaks publicly that you. you can stay down when adversary. adversity hits. You can stay down or you. can rise up and you can find the will to. live for your family, for those who love. you, for those you love, for those. you're connected to. Her son saved her.

life that day. She pulled herself across. the highway, burned over 90% of her body. and insisted that she would live, that this would be the beginning, not. the end. And she she's had untold. numbers of surgeries. The pain. associated with those kinds of burns and. that kind of surgery is well documented. And yet she finds a way to speak. optimistically about life and our reason.

for being here. If she can find that, so. can we. If she can find optimism in the wake of. what's happened to her, so can we. It's. a challenge. It's a decision. It's a. choice. We can all make it as she did. As Lauren Manning got out of the. building, I mentioned Wells Crowther. He. and others were still up above saving. others lives. Told this story on AM.

update this week and we mentioned it on. the program. President Trump just. postumously awarded Wells Crowther the. Presidential Medal of Freedom just this. week. He was a 24-year-old equities. trader and volunteer firefighter. Survivors described a man in a red. bandana guiding people to safety and. then returning time and time and time. again to help people help people to. safety.

The his parents didn't know exactly what. had happened to Wells. They knew he died. on 911. They didn't know how, but they knew when. he was a little boy that his dad had. given him a red bandana. Gave him a a. white one. He said, "Wells, with the. white one, the white one is for blow. Blowing your nose and the red one, sorry, reverse that. The red one is to. blow and the white one is to show.". And [snorts] he loved his red bandana.

Here he is wearing it. And Wells would wear that red bandana. for the rest of his life. Apparently, he. wore it all the time. He wore it when he. played lacrosse in college. He wore it. when he was out with his buddies. He had. it when he was working in the World. Trade Center. And he used it that day to. cover his mouth and nose as a screen for. the smoke. And multiple people would. describe who did make it out being. rescued by the man with the red bandana. or the red handkerchief. And his mother, Allison Crowther, read their accounts in.

the newspaper. And here she is speaking to Fox 5 this. year just a couple days ago. >> I would say to him, Wells, I love you so. much. You. such a beautiful soul and his loss. is still painful [music] today. >> Allison might never have known about her. son's heroism had it not been for a red. bandana he wore around his face. [music]. Wells got his first bandana from his dad.

when he was a kid with the fatherly. advice to always carry one in case. things [music] get messy. He kept a red. bandana at his desk at Sandler O'Neal. And one day one of his co-workers came. up and says, "Wells, what is it with. that red bandana? Why do you always have. that red bandana?" [music] And Wells. picked it up and he held it up and he. said, "With this red bandana, I'm going. to change the world." [music]. And and I think he's doing that now. On. 911, Wells covered his [music] face with. a red bandana as he put his own safety.

aside, walking up into the [music] South. Tower to help bring others to safety. Allison learned of her son's bravery. after [music] she read newspaper. accounts from survivors who talked about. being helped by a man who had his face. covered with a red [music] bandana. >> He was just um fearless. Really. fearless. [music] I never saw him afraid. of anything. >> Thank you so very much, Mr. President, for this [music] enormous honor that.

you've bestowed upon my son, Wells. 25. years after September 11th, his life. [music] continues to remind us of. something very simple. In moments when. others need us, each of us has [music]. the power to choose courage, compassion, and service. That's the real meaning of. the red bandana. to be courageous, to. find the good, to be the good. [music]. >> Incredible. And good for President Trump.

for honoring him in that way. I'm sure. that was a healing bomb to the family. And he didn't have to do it. Trump. doesn't get enough credit for his heart. and his empathy for people who are. suffering and and who do heroic things. I mean, it's really pretty. extraordinary. Makes you wonder why it hadn't happened. prior to now. Uh but God bless him and. God bless that family. The the everyday heroes are the ones who. really make you sit up and notice, don't. they? I mean, it's like there was a.

story of um two guys. It was Hold on a. second. Their names are Brian Clark and. Stanley Premnath. And there was um there was a story about. how Clark, Brian Clark was a volunteer. fire warden on the south towers 84th. floor. He was descending the tower and. he heard Premnath calling from the. devastated 81st floor. So he went to. help him. I mean again he didn't have to. do that. He could have just kept going.

and saved himself. That that might be. one's instinct, but not not for Brian. Clark. They wound up escaping together. using Clark's fire uh flashlight to. navigate the stairs. A year later, Brian. Clark gave Stanley the flashlight and it. became a physical reminder of their. escape and their bond. Here's a little. bit more about these two from Spectrum. from just the other day, September 9th. The plane was a couple thousand yards.

away. Within split seconds, it was. getting larger and larger. All I. remember doing was screaming, "Lord, I. can't do this. You take over." And I. drove under the desk. And with the most. thunderous sound, the plane just smashed. into the building. When I got out from. under the desk, the plane was there in. flames. A huge chunk was stuck in my. office doorway 20 ft from where I was. The air pressure was so great it was. sucking everything out. I'm going to. die. So, I'm screaming, "Lord, please.

send somebody, anybody to help me.". Somebody heard at the other end of the. floor. As I got closer to the wall, I. can hear faint and the person saying, "Bang in the wall. I'll know where you. are." So, I'm hitting the wall. I can. hear you now. Climb over hollow ceiling. I couldn't do it. The person says, "Try. again. Think about your children. Think. about your family." And I made a fist as. tightly as I could. My fist passed right through that tri. wall. And I pushed my head through and.

the man yanked my head. And I don't know. how to thank this man who just saved my. life. But he got up and he fixed his. jacket and his stack and he says, "Brian. Clark like a robot.". And he said something that I'll go to. the grave remembering. All my life I. live as an only child. I always wanted a. brother. I find that man today. And this man put. his hand around my shoulder. Come on, buddy. Let's go home.

>> Wow. Incredible. Good for them. Imagine having your friendship begin. under those circumstances. And imagine. as you evacuate the World Trade Center, fearing for your life, legitimately, validly, stopping because you heard somebody and. saying, "I'll I'll risk it. I'll risk my. own life, my future with my family to. help this other." And imagine being. someone like Wells Crowther who did it. over and over and over again when you. had your entire life ahead of you. And.

he was made an honorary firefighter by. the fire department in Nyak, New York. where he was from. Um later. there there are lots of ways to become a. firefighter as Wells proved. Steven Siller, I've got to mention him. We did tons of work with Tunnel to. Towers Foundation and I love Frank. Siller. He's part of Steven's family, but his story was remarkable. Steven was. the father of five. He was 34 years old.

He was part of Brooklyn Squad 1, his. firehouse. He had just finished his shift. He was. on the way to play golf with his. brothers when he got word over the. scanner of a plane hitting the North. Tower. He drove his truck to the entrance of. the Brooklyn battery tunnel, but it had. already been closed for security. purposes. He strapped 60 lbs of gear to. his back. and he raced on foot through the tunnel.

They believe he was in the South Tower. when it collapsed. They don't know his remains have never. been recovered, but the remains of other. Squad One firefighters were found there. And now in his memory, Frank and his. other family members have put together. the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. and they do a 5K run every year on. September 29th. Um, and we've been to it. Uh, my entire team.

on the Kelly File ran the race together. But what you see when you run the. Tunnels Towers race is it has nothing to. do with yourself other than your eyes. You see this firefighters in full gear. running. You see military vets from Iraq. and Afghanistan with no legs running on. their prosthetics. the entire 5K without complaint. It's absolutely humbling as a human.

being. I encourage everybody to do it at. one point in your life if you can get to. New York for it. You run the exact route. and you see what he did. only most of us. do it without the 60 lbs of gear on our. back. And most of us are not running to. our certain death like Steven was. He uh it's always the last Sunday in. September, not necessarily the 29th. It's still ongoing. The foundation now. they help firefighters, first first. responder families who lose uh their.

their loved one, law enforcement, firefighters, or military. They offer. smart homes to injured service members. who return from the wars missing limbs, sometimes all four of them. And Tunnely. Towers Foundation will build them a. smart home so that they can live. independently. and reclaim their dignity. It's a wonderful cause. I love Frank. Siller. I only wish that I had known.

Steven. Here is an interview we did back. in 2012 on my afternoon show there, America Live, where we interviewed. retired Marine Corporal Todd Nicely, who. was injured in Afghanistan. Your wife told you when you were. recovering uh at the beginning, honey, do you know what happened? And you said, "What happened to me?" And she said, "Do. you know you lost your legs?" You said, "Yes." She said, "Do you know you lost. both of your hands, too?" He said, "No.". And your first response was, "Did anyone. else get hurt?" She said, "No." You said.

good and that was the end of it. >> pretty much. >> I think for most of us looking at you. guys and and trying to understand that. your first instinct was to ask whether. anybody else was hurt when you just been. told that you had lost your your legs. and your hands. We try to understand how. somebody could be that strong. Do you. have an answer? >> Well, when you're over there, you know, you're looking out for the guys that are. next to you because they're the ones who. are taking care of you. So when. something like that happens, you just.

hope that, you know, nobody else got. injured while you were doing what you. were put over there to do. So. it's just it's one of those things where. you're you're always looking out for the. guy to the left. The absolute best of us, the absolute. best. God bless him and all the men and. women who paid the ultimate price or. close to it as they served us honorably. on the fields of the Middle East.

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or enter Megan to get 30% off your first. subscription order. That's arm a.com/. Megan. Todd nicely. Incredible. Steven Stiller. um Jr. who was just 9 months old on 911 is now. joining Tunnel to Towers Foundation in. what they're calling Steel Across. America: Connecting a Nation. It's a. nationwide tour that will transport an. authentic steel beam from the World. Trade Center to communities across the.

United States. Here's Steven speaking. with my old pal Major Garrett on CBS. >> This steel is so important. So traveling. with it means the world. This steel is a. visual representation of the sacrifice. and bravery made by so many men and. women who were facing despair, darkness, and evil that day. They stood up and. said, "We're going to do better." They. risk their lives to save others. So to. be representing the foundation and. traveling with this steel, it it means. the world.

>> And for those Americans who have no. living memory of this, what do you want. them to know? >> Well, I'm one of them. So I was 9 months. old on September 11th, so I completely. understand growing up without the depth. of knowledge of what occurred that day, but you can learn and what happened. should not be forgotten. you've grown up. with this. >> What have you taken away from that? >> It's been a really unique experience. growing up with that loss. But just his.

story of bravery and heroism and what. it's inspired in the wake of September. 11th. A terrible thing happened that. day, but so much good has happened since. through the Tunnels Towers Foundation. and the work we get to do. I've gotten. to be a part of helping so many. families. Now I get to travel the. country teaching kids who didn't get to. experience 911 what occurred that day. and relating this deal to them. It it. means the world. >> Look at that. Him Todd Nicely no victim.

mentality whatsoever. Just forge. forward. Lauren Manning find a way. Live. Keep living. Keep living. Not complaining. They're an example to us all. Wow. the. investigation into who committed 9/11. and how these terrorists were able to. board these planes would result in the. 9/11 commission, the 911 commission. report and so on. For now, I'm more.

interested in showing you this. extraordinary clip of James Woods, our. friend, story actor, so accomplished, talented, telling an incredible story. And by the way, shout out to him for. doing something about what happened. here. He I mean it's it's another very. courageous move. He told this story. February 15th, 2002. So this is just months later on the.

O'Reilly factor. Listen to this. Saw 22. >> When 911 happened, we were all stunned. and we all happened to be at my house. that evening and my friend Scott said to. me, you know, remember that flight you. took in August? I said, "Yeah, I've been. thinking about it all day." He said, "Well, maybe you should call the FBI.". And I said, "I'm sure they're being. inundated, but I thought it overnight.". Call a local office and within 2 minutes. got a hold of a very intelligent young. man, a special agent there, um, who, uh, took the report. And I said, "I hope I'm. not wasting your time." He said, "Well, we have so many, uh, reports coming in.".

And he said, "And by the way, even if. this leads to something, we don't like. to backwash information to people. because in case they have to go to a. trial and be witnesses or whatever, so. you won't hear from us." I said, "Well, great." He said, "But we appreciate your. calling.". >> Mhm. quarter to 7:00 the next morning, I. get a phone call that actually wakes me. up and he said, "Uh, we want to talk to. you about the flight that you took in. August." I said, "Oh, did the did the. manifest match of any of the flights. yesterday and on my flight?" He said, "Well, we can't tell you that." I said, "Well, look, I'll get ready and I'll, you know, I'll come down to the uh to. the federal building." He said, "We're. outside your house. We'll just wait.".

>> 7:15. in the morning. I said, "Uh, and I," and. this is the only funny part of any of. this. I said, "How did you know where I. lived?" And there was a pause. He said, "Uh, we're the FBI. We're the FBI.". Thank you. So they came in and I said, "Look, I I'm dying to know where are. these the guys." And he said, "Well, we've had 36,000 tips in one day and. there's two of us and we're going to be. at your house all this morning. So you. can do the math, but we can't tell you, you know." So since then, I have. identified for sure uh two of them as. two of the terrorists who actually were. not on flight 11, but one was on flight.

175 and one was on flight 77. And I have. been told unofficially, not by the FBI, but by someone else in a actually a. higher level of government, believe it. or not, just through a coincidence, through a mutual friend, that all four. of them were terrorists involved. So, was just you and these four guys in. first class? Nobody else? >> No. No, there was a couple other guys. Were they nervous, too, or was it just. you these [clears throat] guys out? >> As I explained to the FBI, they said, "What was your first instinct?" And. aside from certain things like four guys. getting on a transcontinental flight. without any hand luggage who It's funny.

I I notice behavior because I guess I'm. an actor and it's kind of what I. >> You always watch people, right? >> I just kind of observe people. It's. something I've always been fascinated. by. Sort of like that scene in Annie. Hall where Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. sit and watch people and sort of talk. about who they might be. And [gasps]. >> there were four guys. When the flight. attendant who was a woman came up to. them, they literally ignored her like. she didn't exist, which is sort of a. kind of Taliban kind of a Taliban, you. know. idea of womanhood as a you know. not even a human being. I mean it seems. their disrespect for women is so. extraordinary and [snorts] and they.

didn't order alcohol and they just they. said to me you know what what did you. think these guys were? I said well I. thought they were either four law. enforcement officers or four terrorists. in that they had that thing that guys. who are undercover or on a mission have. between each other and it's impossible. to explain. >> Well you lucky you're absolutely lucky. that they didn't decide to do it a month. before. >> Incredible. incredible. He was a witness to it and. he said something. He did something about it. Unfortunately,

it wasn't able to stop what happened on. 9/11, but think about it. That took. guts. James Woods is such a treasure. He. is a national treasure. God bless him. and his beautiful wife Sarah. It's, you. know, that's a lot. That's a lot to go. through to know that you were there with. the terrorists and you you were on the. plane. That was a dry run for 9/11 and. that he can look himself in the mirror. and say, "I did something about it. I. tried to stop it.". Crazy.

The Bin Laden raid, one of the greatest moments in US. military history. It happened 10 years. later. It happened in May of 2011. I. remember because I was on maternity. leave with my daughter Yardley who was. born April 14th and it was um May what. was the date? I don't remember May 9th I. want to say um 2011 that thanks to the.

tireless work of our intelligence. community we found Bin Laden hiding in a. compound in Abadabad Pakistan. and we sent Seal Team 6 and others to go. get him. Um, here is some footage of. Americans cheering because when the news. broke late that night that we had killed. Bin Laden, Obama came out, people. gathered spontaneously at the White. House and at ground zero and started.

cheering. Here's a bit of that. [cheering]. USA. [cheering]. >> We We feel really really vindicated that. we finally got him. This is our. generation's uh VE VJ day. This is our. generation's victory and enduring. freedom day. That's what today is. >> I'm proud of our military and proud of. our presidents Bush and Obama.

>> You kill innocent American people, you're going to pay the price. >> It's time to celebrate. Uh it's the. epitome of gratification. At least I know I'm free. of THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO. THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE. NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH. LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. [cheering].

USA. >> REMARKABLE, isn't it? young, old, Democrat, Republican, together joining on the streets of. America to say the pledge to sing to. pledge their loyalty to the United. States to celebrate the death the murder. the the killing not a murder but the.

death of a hideous terrorist who's. burning in hell right now. I mean, it's just what a what a moment. And that's really the other part of the. September 11th story is how it brought. us together as a people. And boy did it ever. Did it ever. The. the day after the stock exchange was. closed and there it had to reopen. It's.

the US stock exchange. And there was an. urging for everyone to go and buy $1 of. stock just to send a message. Did they ever. There was a question about whether the. New York City Marathon should be run, which always happens in late September, or whether it would be, you know, too. hard on the city or too hard on the. first responders. They ran and people. were dangling flags over the bridges, running with flags around them, holding.

up flags for the runners. Actually, my. husband Doug was one of the runners that. year. He got in. He wasn't even a. runner. He he had registered. He had. forgotten that he had registered for it. And then he got a notice after 911 that. he made it. And uh he said, "Gosh, can I. run a marathon?" And he said, "I'm going. to run the loop in Central Park, and if. I can do that, I've got to do this." And. he could run it. His feet were bloody by. the end, but he was so glad he did it. It was the most patriotic he's he said. he's ever felt. And he lost a dear. friend on 911.

Um, baseball. They just dropped an. incredible documentary on the role of. baseball in helping us heal from 9/11. And even for a non-sports fan like me, you couldn't stop but appreciate. baseball. You couldn't help but. appreciate what the what the baseball. world was doing to help us heal. No one. could forget. No one. Game three of the. World Series, Yankees versus Arizona. Diamondbacks. The game three was the first one played.

back at Yankee Stadium and George W. Bush threw out the first pitch. It was. October 30th, 2001. Watch. >> for tonight's. ceremonial first pitch. And please. welcome [cheering] the President of the. United States. [cheering].

[applause]. >> [cheering]. >> Nailed it.

Thank you, Mr. President. What a feeling.

Obviously, George W. Bush and Dick. Cheney would architect a responsive. strategy that would prove disastrous in. many ways. We should not have gone into. Iraq. We stayed too long in Afghanistan. But look, we needed that guy in the wake. of that attack. And it's the reason many. of us, even if we have problems with the. foreign policy as it was played out, we'll always have a soft spot in our. heart for that man, for George W. Bush,

who was just a civilian who volunteered. to run for office and before he knew it. was a wartime president, commander-in-chief. in a military response that had to. happen, though perhaps not in the way it. did. um. Giuliani who now. he's another one you know whose image. has changed very much publicly but if. you live through 911 you still you got. you got some you got a soft spot in. there for Giuliani you know it's.

you you can't not if you remember he. became America's mayor that day and the. way he handled himself on 911 kept cool. in the storm was a leader. was able to bring a calm to others, directed the city in a way that they. desperately needed. Same thing with the. messaging. He actually retraced his. steps on that day with Newsmax recently. and we have a bit of it cut. Watch this.

>> And then I could see the two towers head. on and I would say I stopped. and I said, "Oh my god.". Because when you see it straight on all. the way up there, the flames coming out. I don't know. It's the worst shot I ever. seen my whole life. And police said, "Be. careful. Things are coming off the. building and they're going as far away. as up there by things." It was like. pieces of steel, pieces of debris. As he.

got closer to the towers, Giuliani ran. into an old friend, New York City Fire. Department Chaplain Michael Judge. When. I got to about right here, right over. here, I saw Father Judge. And I always. had a thing with him. I always would say. to him, "Father, will you please pray. for us?". So, he would say, "No, uh, better if you. pray. It's more it'd be more unusual. God will pay attention." I said that to. him. I didn't get the usual humorous.

response. Instead, I got, "Mayor, this. is really bad." He went like this. I'm. glad you have big shoulders. Keep praying. Now, you never said that. to me before. >> Later that morning, when the South Tower. collapsed, debris crashed through the. North Tower lobby, killing many inside, including Father Michael Judge, who. stayed until the end, praying for. firefighters and administering last. rights to the dead.

Father Michael Judge was another name. that became a household name after 911. We were together in our grief and our. horror and our deep sadness for our. country and in our resilience and our. will to go forward together to not stay. down. That's all that's required to be. strong, to be courageous. Just don't. stay down. You you get knocked down, you. get back up. That's it. You keep going.

Like Lauren Manning, you make the. choice. This will not be my last day. I. will keep living. I have things to do. I. have people to be with, people who love. me, people I love here now around me who. I can see and I know. Or maybe just the. promise of them in the future. And you. can see it. The unity. I mean it there's no better. example of it than what happened on the.

steps of the US Congress right after the. towers went down. I mean right after 9. the events of 9/11 that morning. This. was spontaneous and. it was healing and it was something I. don't think we'll ever see again. when. members of the US Congress came out in. front of the Congress and started. singing God Bless America spontaneously.

Watch this. and her and guide her through the night. [chanting] with the light from above. From the mountain. to the praless, [chanting]. my home sweet home.

God bless America, my home [singing]. sweet. home. [applause]. When have we seen that kind of unity. amongst members of Congress? Since. when have we felt it as a country? since a couple of moments here or there.

like I showed the night Bin Laden was. killed, but it's been it's been rare. I'm going to leave it at this. Speaking. of Giuliani, he was such a leader, as I said, and had. a lot of sage commentary. around 911 for years and years and years. and whatever. I I know he's gotten very. political and people have problem with. him, but I I will always remember him.

for the way he behaved around this. event. And he said the following. The attacks. of September 11th were intended to break. our spirit. Instead, we have emerged. stronger and more unified. We feel. renewed devotion to the principles of. political, economic, and religious. freedom, the rule of law, and respect. for human life. We are more determined. than ever to live our lives in freedom.

Right on. In memory of the thousands who died that. day and in the years thereafter from the. toxic pit that became ground zero from. the sacrifice that was made on the. fields of Iraq and Afghanistan. and otherwise. We remember you. We remember why you. died. And we will try to remember the. unity that enveloped much of the country. in the wake of your deaths. [music].

We'll see you Monday. Today's episode was brought to you by. Supershore.