NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas Full Episode - Sept. 11

TONIGHT. AMERICA REMEMBERS. WE ARE LIVE FROM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE. JUST ABOVE FROM WHERE THE TWIN TOWERS ONCE STOOD. 25 YEARS AFTER THAT HORRIFIC ATTACK ON 9/11, THE NATION COMES TOGETHER. TO HONOR THE LIVES LOST. TONIGHT. FROM GROUND ZERO AND ACROSS AMERICA, THE POWERFUL MOMENTS OF REMEMBRANCE, HONORING THE HEROES.

AND. THE LIVES LOST. FROM THE DAY THAT CHANGED AMERICA. AND THE WORLD. IN NEW YORK, THE PROCESSION OF FAMILIES READING ALMOST 3000 NAMES. WELLS, REMY CROWTHER, THE FOUR LIVING EX-PRESIDENTS. GATHERED AT GROUND ZERO. PRESIDENT TRUMP MARKING THE MOMENT AT THE PENTAGON. WE WILL NEVER. EVER FORGET. AS FAMILIES GATHERED ON THE SACRED GROUND OF SHANKSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA,

PLUS THE NEW. 7TH MOMENT OF SILENCE. FOR THE THOUSANDS WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES. FROM 9/11-LINKED ILLNESSES. TONIGHT. STORIES OF HEROISM. MY INTERVIEW WITH THE FIRST FIRE CHIEF ON THE SCENE. WHO SENT HIS OWN BROTHER INTO THE TOWERS, AND THAT WOULD BE THE LAST MOMENT THAT I SAW MY BROTHER KEVIN. THE SOUTH TOWER SURVIVORS WHO SOMEHOW. GOT OUT ALIVE. EVEN THOUGH A PLANE. STRUCK THE FLOORS BELOW THEM.

HAD HE NOT STOPPED TO INVESTIGATE, I WOULD HAVE DIED. AND STORIES THAT WILL NEVER LEAVE US, LIKE THE FLAG RAISED ABOVE THE RUBBLE, ONCE MISSING, NOW FOUND, THE MYSTERY OF THE MEN WHO RAISED IT UP. IT BROUGHT UNITY. TO EVERYBODY. AND WE REMEMBER THE UNITY IN THE WAKE OF THE ATTACKS. NEW YORKERS LINING THE STREETS, THE OUTPOUR OF PATRIOTISM. AS THE NATION COMES TOGETHER ONCE AGAIN. TO NEVER FORGET WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT DAY.

25 YEARS AGO. THIS IS NBC NIGHTLY NEWS. 9/11. AMERICA REMEMBERS. REPORTING TONIGHT FROM GROUND ZERO, HERE IS TOM YASS. AND GOOD EVENING, AND WE THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. ON THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF NIGHTLY NEWS AS WE MARK 25 YEARS. SINCE THE SEPTEMBER 11TH ATTACKS ON AMERICA. WE ARE LIVE ABOVE GROUND ZERO IN LOWER MANHATTAN,

A SITE THAT HAS BECOME HALLOWED GROUND. JUST BELOW ME THERE ARE THE REFLECTING POOLS. WHERE THE TWO TOWERS ONCE STOOD, NOW MONUMENTS TO THE NEARLY 3000 PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES THAT DAY. AROUND THE POOLS, LOOK CLOSELY, THE NAMES OF EVERY ONE OF THEM ETCHED FOR ETERNITY. TODAY WE SAW ROSES AND FLAGS PLACED ON THEM. 25 YEARS IS A LONG TIME. CHILDREN BORN AFTER THE ATTACKS HAVE NOW GRADUATED COLLEGE, BUT TODAY, DESPITE THAT TIME, THE MEMORIES ARE STILL SO FRESH.

FOR EVERYONE WHO WATCHED THE TERROR OF THAT DAY PLAY OUT. ON LIVE TV, BUT ESPECIALLY. FOR THE FAMILIES WHO GATHERED HERE AT GROUND ZERO, FOR THE SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN AND CIVILIANS WHO SURVIVED THE ATTACK ON THE PENTAGON. AND THE LOVED ONES OF THOSE WHO DID NOT. AND FOR THE RELATIVES WHO GATHERED IN SHANKSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA TODAY. TO HONOR THOSE HEROES WHO TOOK DOWN A FLIGHT THEMSELVES, SAVING COUNTLESS OTHERS. WE'RE GOING TO TAKE YOU TO ALL OF THOSE LOCATIONS AND SHARE THOSE STORIES OF HEROISM.

AND OF LOSS, AND WE HAVE NEW REPORTING TONIGHT. THE CIA RELEASING FOR THE FIRST TIME. SOME OF THE CLEAR WARNINGS PRESENTED TO PRESIDENTS IN THE LEAD UP TO 9/11. BUT WE BEGIN WITH TODAY'S SOLEMN MILESTONE AND OUR PLEDGE AS A NATION. TO NEVER FORGET. TONIGHT, 25 YEARS LATER, THE NATION REMEMBERING ONE OF OUR DARKEST DAYS. THAT FOREVER CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY.

IN NEW YORK CITY, AMONG THE MANY DIGNITARIES, ALL FOUR FORMER AND LIVING PRESIDENTS, ALONG WITH THE FORMER FIRST LADIES AND VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE, IT WAS A SOMBER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE. FAMILIES STILL FEELING THE RAW EMOTIONS, ROSES AND FLAGS SEEN AMONG THE INSCRIBED NAMES AT THE MEMORIAL.

THE NYPD, FDNY, AND PORT AUTHORITY POLICE DEPARTMENTS PERFORMING TAPS. IN UNISON. AT 8:46 A.M., AMERICANS PAUSING FOR THE FIRST MOMENT OF SILENCE. WHEN AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 11 CRASHED INTO THE NORTH TOWER. AT 9:03 A.M., A SECOND MOMENT OF SILENCE. WHEN UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 175. HIT THE SOUTH TOWER. IT WAS 25 YEARS AGO,

2,977 VICTIMS KILLED IN THE SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2001 ATTACKS, THE DEADLIEST TERROR ATTACK ON US SOIL. WHEN TERRORISTS HIJACKED FOUR COMMERCIAL PLANES, TWO FLYING INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. 3RD. INTO THE PENTAGON. AND A 4TH. INTENDED TO GO TO WASHINGTON DC. BUT CRASHED NEAR SHANKSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA. JOSEPH PFEIFFER WAS THE 1ST FDNY FIRE CHIEF TO.

ARRIVE AT THE TWIN TOWERS DURING THE ATTACKS. YOU CAN HEAR HIM RADIOING IN FOR HELP. WHAT IS USUALLY THE FIRST MEMORY THAT THAT HITS YOU? THE FIRST THING THAT HITS ME. IS. WATCHING THE FIRST PLANE. AIM AND CRASH INTO THE NORTH TOWER OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. EVERY FIRST RESPONDER THAT. CAME THAT DAY. KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO THE MOST DANGEROUS FIRE OF THEIR LIVES,

AND. SEEING THAT ON THEIR FACES. IS SOMETHING. I ALWAYS HOLD. IT WOULD ALSO BE THE LAST DAY HE WOULD SEE HIS YOUNGER BROTHER, LIEUTENANT KEVIN PFEIFFER. I GAVE HIM AN ORDER. I SAID GO UP. TAKE A UNIT. AND EVACUATE THE BUILDING. AND I SAW MY BROTHER TURN AROUND. AND STARTED TO. TO CLIMB THE NARROW STAIRS. OF THE TRADE CENTER. AND THAT WOULD BE THE LAST MOMENT.

THAT I SAW MY BROTHER KEVIN. HE THEN MADE THE DIFFICULT DECISION TO. EVACUATE THE NORTH TOWER BEFORE IT COLLAPSED, SAVING MANY LIVES. IT WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME. IN HISTORY THAT A FIRE CHIEF. PULLED THE FIREFIGHTERS OUT WITH THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL IN THE BUILDING. YOU'RE NEVER FORGOTTEN. TODAY IN NEW YORK, FAMILIES READING THE NAMES OF. EVERY SINGLE VICTIM. TO THE BEST UNCLE THAT I NEVER MET, INCLUDING. FROM FAMILY MEMBERS BORN AFTER 9/11.

I. EARLY THIS MORNING AT THE PENTAGON, AN AMERICAN FLAG WAS UNFURLED TO HONOR THE 184 VICTIMS. IT WAS A CLEAR AND SUNNY DAY WHEN. AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 77 CRASHED INTO THE PENTAGON. TODAY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP. HONORING ALL THOSE LIVES LOST. THE 25 YEARS SINCE HAVE SHOWN US THE.

EVEN GREATER POWER OF THE AMERICAN SPIRIT TO ENDURE AND PREVAIL AND TO WIN. AND TODAY OUR COUNTRY IS STRONGER. THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN. HONOR. ELIZABETH. WAO. AND IN SHANKSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, THOMAS EDWARD. BURNETT JR. MORE REMEMBRANCES FOR THOSE ON UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 93, WHERE 40 PASSENGERS AND CREW FORCED THE PLANE FROM REACHING ITS INTENDED TARGET.

IN WASHINGTON DC. AND CRASHED INTO THE GROUND. EMILY AQUETA IS THERE. THE DESIGN OF THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL MIRRORS THE FINAL SECONDS OF FLIGHT 93, COMING ALONG THE WALL OF NAMES HERE, NOW ADORNED IN FLOWERS. BEFORE ULTIMATELY CRASHING IN THE FIELD OUT THERE. ONLY LOVED ONES OF THE VICTIMS ARE PERMITTED TO ACCESS. THAT SACRED SPACE. BACK IN NEW YORK, THE MEMORIES FROM 25 YEARS AGO ARE STILL RAW. THAT WAS THE DAY.

THAT. NEW YORK. REALLY TOOK A PUNCH TO THE GUT. OUR ANN THOMPSON REMEMBERS THAT TERRIFYING DAY. YOU COULD JUST SEE THIS WALL OF DEBRIS COME. FLYING AT US. WHEN THAT DUST CLEARED. WHAT DID YOU SEE? WHAT I SAW WAS, FIRST OF ALL, OUTSIDE IT LOOKED LIKE A NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST. I MEAN IT WAS JUST INCHES AND INCHES OF THIS DUST ON THE STREET, AND IT WAS VERY QUIET. IT WAS. QUIET.

AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, 1/7 MOMENT OF SILENCE. AT THE 9/11 MEMORIAL. TO REMEMBER THE THOUSANDS WHO HAVE SINCE. DIED FROM 9/11 RELATED TO HEALTH CONDITIONS TRACED BACK TO THE EXPOSURE. TO THAT TOXIC DUST. AND DEBRIS. IT HAS NOW FAR SURPASSED THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO DIED ON 9/11. MY UNCLE, COURT OFFICER MITCHELL SCOTT WALLACE, LOGAN MILLER WAS JUST. WHEN HE LOST HIS UNCLE MITCHELL WALLACE, HE LATER LOST HIS GRANDFATHER KENNETH.

DUE TO A 9/11 RELATED ILLNESS. IT'S 25 YEARS. WHAT DO YOU HOPE HAPPENS IN THE NEXT 25? YES, SO YOU KNOW WE HAVE A NEW GENERATION WHO'S ALIVE THAT WASN'T ALIVE. DURING 9/11. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR MY GENERATION TO THINK HOW DO. WE PASS ON THE MEMORIES OF THOSE WHO WE LOST, BUT ALSO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN LOST IN THE YEARS SINCE 9/11. THE TOLL OF AMERICA'S GREATEST TRAGEDY IS STILL GROWING TONIGHT. WE DO HAVE SOME BREAKING NEWS RELATED TO. 9/11 RIGHT NOW AND NEWLY DECLASSIFIED CIA BRIEFINGS. SHOWING PRESIDENTS BILL CLINTON AND GEORGE W.

BUSH. WERE REPEATEDLY WARNED OF POTENTIAL AL QAEDA ATTACKS BEFORE 9/11. GABE GUTIERREZ JOINS US NOW. GABE, ONE BRIEFING OF PRESIDENT CLINTON SAID. OSAMA BIN LADEN SUPPORTERS MIGHT USE A PLANE IN A TERROR ATTACK. YES, TOM, THAT BRIEFING CAME IN SEPTEMBER OF 1998 AND WARNED. THAT AL QAEDA MAY FLY AN EXPLOSIVE PACKED AIRPLANE INTO A US CITY, POSSIBLY WASHINGTON, AND BY AUGUST 2001, INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS WERE WARNING OF SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY INSIDE THE US.

CONSISTENT WITH PREPARATIONS FOR HIJACKINGS OR OTHER ATTACKS. NOW, IMPORTANTLY, THESE DOCUMENTS DO NOT SHOW THAT OFFICIALS KNEW THE SPECIFIC 9/11 PLOT IN ADVANCE. THE BRIEFINGS TO PRESIDENT CLINTON AND BUSH LACKED DEFINITIVE INFORMATION ABOUT. PRECISELY HOW OR WHEN THE AL QAEDA ATTACKS MIGHT TAKE PLACE, BUT 25 YEARS LATER THEY OFFER SOME MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE WARNING SIGNS. AND THE FAILURE TO PUT THOSE PIECES TOGETHER IN TIME, TOM. GUTIERREZ LIVE AT THE WHITE HOUSE FOR US, GABE,

THANK YOU. WHEN WE RETURN IN 60 SECONDS. FROM HERE AT GROUND ZERO WHEN THE SOUTH TOWER WAS HIT, TWO STRANGERS MADE IT OUT ALIVE TOGETHER. BUT HOW. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING STORIES YOU'LL HEAR FROM THAT DAY. NEXT. WELCOME BACK. AS A LOCAL REPORTER HERE IN NEW YORK CITY, I REPORTED A STORY THAT HAS NEVER LEFT ME. TWO MEN WHO SURVIVED THE SOUTH TOWER ATTACK, THEY DID SOMETHING NO ONE IN THE NORTH TOWER WAS ABLE TO DO.

GET OUT ALIVE, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE WORKING ON FLOORS AT. OR HIGHER THAN WHERE THE PLANE STRUCK THEIR BUILDING. HOW DID THEY DO THAT? 25 YEARS LATER, I'VE ASKED THEM. TO SHARE IT ONE MORE TIME. EVERYONE WHO ESCAPED THE TWIN TOWERS ON SEPTEMBER 11TH. HAS A STORY. BUT THE ONE THAT UNITES THESE TWO MEN.

IS ONON 9/11 AT 9:03 A.M.IBLE. WITH THE NORTH TOWER ALREADY BURNING, STANLEY PRAYMAN WAS IN THE SOUTH TOWER ON THE 81ST FLOOR. WHEN SOMETHING. CAUGHT HIS EYE. AND WHAT I SAW IS A GIANT AIRPLANE, GRAY IN COLOR. THE PLANE IS BEARING DOWN ON ME NOSE TO NOSE, AND THE PLANE IS COMING TOWARDS ME, AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I SAID WHAT I'M ABOUT TO TELL YOU. LORD, I CAN'T DO THIS. YOU TAKE OVER. THAT'S ALL I SAID, AND I DOVE UNDER THE DESK.

AND WITHIN LIKE SPLIT SECONDS, BAM. OH MY GOD. IT WAS THE MOST THUNDEROUS SOUND YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE. IT JUST. POPPED MY EARDRUM. THE. YOU COME OUT FROM YOUR DESK, WHAT DO YOU SEE? IT LOOKS LIKE A WAR ZONE. EVERY WALL IS FLATTENED AND ALL THE FURNITURE IS JUST MANGLED. AND THE AIR PRESSURE IS SO GREAT, IT'S SUCKING EVERYTHING OUT.

AND A LARGE CHUNK OF THIS PLANE. BROKE OUT AND WAS STUCK IN THE OFFICE DOORWAY. ABOUT 20 FT FROM WHERE MY DESK WAS. THREE FLOORS ABOVE STANLEY, BRIAN CLARK. COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT HE WAS FEELING. FOR 5 SECONDS, THE BUILDING SWAYED TOWARD THE HUDSON. DID YOU KNOW THAT A PLANE HAD HIT THE BUILDING? I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HAD HAPPENED OTHER THAN. THE MOMENT IT HIT. I KNEW IT WAS TERRORISM. HE GRABBED THIS FLASHLIGHT, SOME CO-WORKERS, AND HEADED DOWN THE FIRE EXIT. WHEN THEY RAN INTO A WOMAN COMING UP.

SHE SAID, YOU CAN'T GO DOWN. THERE'S SMOKE AND FLAMES. AND. IN THE PAUSE, THE DEBATE STARTED. SHOULD WE GO UP? SHOULD WE GO DOWN? BUT ALSO IN THAT PAUSE, I HEARD THIS. BANGING NOISE INSIDE THE EIGHTY-FIRST FLOOR, AND I STARTED TO SCREAM, LORD, PLEASE SEND SOMEBODY, ANYBODY TO HELP ME. AND THAT FIRST SCREAM THAT I SCREAMED. I COULDN'T HEAR A RESPONSE, BUT SOMEBODY AT THE OTHER END OF THE FLOOR HAD A FLASHLIGHT.

HE'S SHINING, SHINING THE. FLASHLIGHT LIKE THIS OVER HIS HEAD, AND THE PERSON IS SAYING, BANG ON THE WALL. I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE. SO I'M HITTING THE WALL. THE PERSON SAYS, I CAN HEAR YOU NOW. CLIMB OVER, AND HE JUMPED ONCE AND I MISSED. HE JUMPED A SECOND TIME AND I LIFTED HIM UP OVER THE WALL, AND HIS WEIGHT. COMING AT ME. TIPPED THE DESK OVER. WE FELL ON A PILE OF DEBRIS. AND, AND THIS MAN, THIS STRANGER GAVE ME A BIG KISS, AND, AND I KIND OF DUSTED MYSELF OFF AND I SAID, I'M BRIAN. HE SAID, I'M STANLEY,

WE'LL BE BROTHERS FOREVER. ARM IN ARM THEY MADE THEIR WAY DOWN 81 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS COMING ACROSS A SITE. THAT STILL HAUNTS THEM 25 YEARS LATER. THERE WAS A GUY WHO WAS DYING IN FRONT OF YOU, DYING IN FRONT THERE, AND HE'S CRYING OUT, WE JUST GOT MARRIED. PLEASE TELL MY WIFE AND OUR BABY THAT I LOVE THEM. AND I CAN HEAR THAT CRY. EVERY NIGHT BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP. COULDN'T HELP THIS MAN.

AND I LIVED WITH THAT GUILT. AS THEY KEPT HEADING DOWN ON THE 15TH FLOOR, BRIAN WANTED TO SLOW DOWN, BUT STANLEY. PUSHED HIM TO GO FASTER. THEY MADE IT TO THE PLAZA LEVEL, RUNNING TOWARDS TRINITY CHURCH. WHEN THEY FELT THE GROUND VIBRATE. AND I'M TELLING BRIAN. IT'S GOING. AND I SAID THERE'S NO WAY THAT'S A STEEL STRUCTURE, AND I DIDN'T FINISH MY SENTENCE. AND THE NEXT THING WE KNOW THE BUILDING STARTS TO IMPLODE.

BRYAN LOST 61 COLLEAGUES. STANLEY, 18. NEARLY 3000 PEOPLE DIED THAT DAY. AND THESE TWO MEN. SAY THE ONLY REASON THEY'RE ALIVE. IS BECAUSE OF EACH OTHER. THE FACT THAT STANLEY AND I. HAD OUR INTERACTION ON THAT FLOOR, MAKING NOISE, CALLING ME AND KNOWING, NOT KNOWING WHO I WAS, YEAH,

I'M ALIVE USE THAT HAPPENED. HE WENT IN. AND HE SAVED YOU. WHEN A LOT OF PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE JUST KEPT WALKING. I, I THINK THIS MAN IS MY GUARDIAN ANGEL. I REALLY BELIEVE THAT WITH ALL MY HEART. HAD HE NOT STOPPED TO INVESTIGATE, I WOULD HAVE DIED. BROTHERS. BONDED BY 9/11. WE'RE BACK IN A MOMENT WITH THE STORY AND THE MYSTERY. BEHIND THIS ICONIC IMAGE. STAY WITH US. BACK NOW WITH AN IMAGE THAT HAS BECOME EMBLAZONED ONTO THE AMERICAN PSYCHE,

BUT WE KNOW SO LITTLE ABOUT THE MEN BEHIND IT. HERE'S STEPHANIE GOSK. 25 YEARS AGO TODAY, WITH THE RUINS OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS SMOLDERING. THREE FIREFIGHTERS GRABBED A FLAG. AND OUT OF THE RUBBLE FOUND A POLE TO FLY IT FROM. TOM FRANKLIN TOOK THE PHOTO. WE SEE WHAT THEY LOOKED LIKE, BUT ANYTHING BEYOND THAT THAT YOU CAN SAY ABOUT THEM? YEAH, THEY WERE GRITTY. THEY LOOKED A LITTLE WORRIED AND CONCERNED LIKE THE REST OF US. RESILIENCE AND THE PATRIOTISM AMID A BACKDROP OF DESTRUCTION TOLD.

THE STORY OF THE SHOCKING DAY IN A SINGLE IMAGE. IT SPREAD ACROSS HEADLINES, BUT SINCE THEN THOSE THREE FIREFIGHTERS HAVE RARELY SPOKEN. NOBODY THERE HAD ANY IDEA THAT THERE WERE PICTURES BEING TAKEN. JACK HODGINS WAS GEORGE JOHNSON AND DANNY MCWILLIAMS' LIEUTENANT. THE 3RD FIREFIGHTER WAS BILLY EISENGRIND. DANNY FOUND THE FLAG AT A MARINA NEAR GROUND ZERO. KNOWING HIM, WHAT DO YOU THINK MOTIVATED HIM TO GO AND DO THAT?

I BELIEVE THAT HE RECOGNIZED THAT. IF ANYTHING COULD BE DONE TO RAISE THE MORALE, TO, TO KIND OF RALLY THE TROOPS, THIS WAS THE TIME. BUT THE PHOTO RALLIED MORE THAN JUST THE FIREFIGHTERS. IT UNITED THE COUNTRY. IT WAS A VERY. PATRIOTIC MOMENT WHERE YOU'RE PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. IN THE WEEKS FOLLOWING 9/11, THEY GAVE A FEW INTERVIEWS AND WERE INVITED TO THE WHITE HOUSE, BUT SINCE THEN, ESSENTIALLY. PUBLIC SILENCE FROM THE TRIO.

JUST WANTED THE INTEGRITY OF THAT DAY, THE REASON THEY DID IT. AND THE GREAT OUTCOME. WHAT IT PRODUCED TO REMAIN. WHAT IT WAS. THE PHOTO WAS BEING COMPARED TO THE HISTORIC IMAGE OF THE BATTLE OF IWO JIMA, AND IT WAS MADE INTO A COMMEMORATIVE STAMP. HOW DID IT AFFECT THEIR LIVES? HONESTLY, I THINK THEY JUST CARRIED ON WITH THEIR CAREERS. GEORGE BECAME A BATTALION CHIEF. DANNY BECAME A LIEUTENANT, AND THEY JUST ALWAYS. KEPT QUIET ABOUT IT.

ALL THREE ARE RETIRED FROM THE FDNY. AS FOR THE FLAG, AFTER YEARS OF BEING MISSING, IT IS NOW SHOWCASED AT THE 9/11 MUSEUM. ALONGSIDE THE PHOTO. IF I HAD THEM SITTING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. AND I ASKED THEM. WHAT DO YOU WANT. THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY TO BE ABOUT, WHAT WOULD THEY SAY? I THINK THEY WOULD SAY THAT. IT'S A REFLECTION. ON. ALL THE LOSS, YOU KNOW, OUR MOTTO IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS NEVER FORGET. AND STILL HELPING THE COUNTRY TO NEVER FORGET.

THE IMAGE OF THREE FIREFIGHTERS RAISING A FLAG AS THE SUN SET ON 9/11. STEPHANIE GOSK, NBC NEWS. WHEN WE COME BACK, WHY WE NEED TO TEACH THE MEANING. OF THIS SOLEMN DAY. FINALLY, AS WE REFLECT ON 25 YEARS SINCE THE ATTACKS OF 9/11, 1 THING THAT HAS COME UP IN OUR REPORTING AND DISCUSSIONS AROUND THE NEWSROOM.

IS HOW SOME IN THIS COUNTRY KNOW SO LITTLE ABOUT THIS TRAGIC EVENT. PART OF THE ISSUE IS ROUGHLY 30% OF AMERICANS RIGHT NOW. WERE NOT YET BORN ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. SO IN MANY WAYS IT'S UP TO EACH ONE OF US. TO EMBRACE THE MANTRA. NEVER FORGET. BUT NOW. CARRY A NEW ONE. WE MUST TEACH. TEACH ABOUT THE EXTREMISM THAT LED TO THE MURDERS OF THOUSANDS. TEACH ABOUT THOSE WHO RUSHED INTO BUILDINGS,

TURNED INFERNOS, BECAUSE IT WAS THEIR DUTY TO HELP. TEACH ABOUT THE HEROISM OF THE PASSENGERS ON A HIJACKED PLANE WHO FOUGHT BACK, GIVING THEIR OWN LIVES TO SAVE OTHERS. TEACH ABOUT THOSE WHO WORKED ON RECOVERY AND CLEAN UP ON THE. SITES OF THE ATTACKS AND THE IMPACT ON THEIR LIVES YEARS LATER. BECAUSE OF THAT TOXIC DUST. AND TEACH ABOUT THOSE WHO ENLISTED AFTER 9/11. ANSWERING THAT PATRIOTIC CALL TO SERVE IN WARS. THAT WOULD LAST DECADES. THE SPACE BEHIND ME IS WHERE THE TOWER STOOD.

TO THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, IT MAY APPEAR TO BE AN EMPTY SPACE, BUT IF YOU KNOW ABOUT 9/11, YOU CAN SEE AND YOU CAN FEEL THE SUFFERING. AND SACRIFICE. THAT REACHED TO THE HEAVENS. WE MUST TEACH. SO WE NEVER FORGET. THAT'S NIGHTLY NEWS FOR THIS FRIDAY. I'M TOM YASS. TONIGHT. AND ALWAYS WE'RE HERE FOR YOU. GOOD NIGHT.