Ground Zero: 25 Years Later

Twenty-five years ago, I was assigned to cover the worst terrorist attack in American history from New York City. What followed became one of the defining assignments of my career.

 

I reported from Ground Zero.

 

In the shadow of the ruins of the World Trade Center, I talked to loved ones of the victims, first responders, WTC workers that escaped with their lives, and political leaders – all trying to understand what had just happened.

 

I was standing in lower Manhattan.

 

The rubble.

 

The smoke.

 

The debris.

 

The faces of the firefighters and police officers.

 

The missing-person posters.

 

The families waiting for news.

 

And the realization that thousands of people had gone to work one morning and would never go home.

 

All I wanted to do was cry, but there was no time for that.

 

Head down, mic in hand, I reported. I conducted interviews, made phone calls, and countless deadlines. I went live too many times to remember. I asked questions. I observed.

And I carried home memories that have stayed with me for a quarter century.

 

I interviewed New York Senator Hillary Clinton and Mayor Rudy Giuliani. I was witness to President Geroge W. Bush’s visit to the site, where he rallied first responders by saying, “I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.”

 

There are too many stories to tell from my time covering the World Trade Center attack. And there are a few I have never reported.

 

That changes today.

 

Over the next few days leading up to the 25th anniversary of 9/11, I will report on what did not make it on TV.

 

Some are stories I covered from Ground Zero. Others are moments that happened when the television cameras weren’t rolling.

 

This is Ground Zero: 25 Years Later.

 

2,977 lives lost.

 

I still remember.