onomy and difficult situations so many americans find themselves in without jobs. i think the enduring lesson of september 11th it brought out the goodness in each other. we talked to strangers standing in line. we saw the heroism of those brave firefighters who went into the danger and up towards the infer inferno. we saw the heroism of our military. others have signed up to serve knowing the threat and knowing they would debt employed. so we saw that bravery and goodness. we saw the greatness of our country. sometimes it may seem it's beneath the surface but it's there. >> karen thank you so much four memories there morning. brian we're at the pentagon and it's important to remember the importance. this is where the war began after these attacks. >> david, thank you. and next up here the next moment of remembrance will come at 9:03 and remember that's when

united airlines flight 175 hit the south tower of the world trade center the bell will ring twice, then we'll hear from former president george w. bush. tom, again, in real-time, on television we were dealing with the picture and the reality that the building had been struck and then along came that second impact. that changed everything because we knew what this was. >> there was bewilderment before that and there was an urgency. people said something happened at the world trade center, the hole was so large it didn't seem it could be a small plane. i was en route to the studio at the time. a plane had just flown over washington square and flown into the south tower. i knew then we were at war very likely this was a deliberate atalk of unimaginable proportions. >> absolutely. >> we were talking with the

bushs a moment ago. the friday before the attack mrs. bush had a book festival and the week before that she a state dinner for the president of mexico. 9/11 changed for everyone. >> people forget how new the presidency was of george w. bush. we were coming off the hotly contested election and then everyone came together, of course in the wake of this. we're going to return to the reading of the names because this will this will pause and then turn into the second moment of silence ceremony to mark the time when the second air impacted.

mark bingham deora bodley george john bishop. jeffrey donald bittner.

[ bell ringing ] [ bell ringing ] >> president lincoln not only understood the heartbreak of his country, he also understood the cost of sacrifice and reset

those in sorrow. in the fall of 1864 he learned that a widow had lost five sons in the civil war and he wrote her this letter. dear madam i had been shown in the files of the war department a statement of the at union general of massachusetts that you're the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. i feel how weak and fruitless it must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile from a aggressive so overwhelming but i can't in from from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save. i pray that our heavenly father may assuage your bereavement and

leave you the pride that must be yours to lay such a costly sacrifice on the altar of freedom. yours very sincerely and respectfully, abraham lincoln. [ applause ] >> my name is peter. my father worked on the 88th floor of the world trade center. i was 1 when i stood here in 2003 and read a poem about how much i wanted to break down and cry. since then i've stopped crying but i haven't stopped missing my dad. he was awesome. my brother had just turned 2 when he passed. i tried to teach him all the things my father taught me. how to catch a baseball. how to ride a bike. and to work hard in school.

my dad always said how important it was. since 9/11, my mother brother and i moved to florida. i got a job. i enrolled into college. i wish my dad had been there to teach me how to drive ask a girl out on a date and see me graduate from high school. and 100 other things i can't even begin to name. he worked in an environmental department and cared about the earth and our future. i know he wanted to make a difference. i admire him for that. and i would have liked to talk to him about such things. i decided to become a forensic scientist. i hope that i can make my father proud of the young men that my brother and i have become. i miss you so much, dad. [ applause ]

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> while we listen to yo-yo ma the schedule calls for the gates of the memorial to be opened to family members. this is what you're seeing, family members who have wait ad decade for this opportunity. yo-yo ma has completed and now

the roll call of names continues. craig michael blass. rita blau. richard middleton blood jr. michael andrew boccardi. john paul bocchi. and my father, james. we love you dad. we'll never forget you. >> and my father, john mazzo. dad, we miss you. you're forever in our hearts. rest in peace.

brews douglas boehm. >> nicholas andrew. lawrence francis boisseau. kelly ann booms. maryjane booth. >> my father george john bishop. >> my dad firefighter cliff joseph blackwell. >> sherri ann bordeaux.

>> jerry j.borg. >> martin michael. >> richard edward bosco. >> claus. >> j. howard boulton. >> francisco eli fwmpb io. >> thomas harold -- >> we're back here on ground zero. i'll state the obvious for each of these readers it is just an aching process because of course they represent names that are tied to survivors and family members and the crowd the families for the first time today coming to see and touch and experience these names on the wall. just a highly emotional day and experience including for our

next guest janel macmillan. she did not know she would bear this title at the time, but she turned out to be last person rescued from the world trade center after 27 harrowing hours an employee of the port authority, janel, you're very nice to come down and talk to us today. i should tell our audience this is the first time you've been back here. if it helps keep looking at me and not behind us. it's a powerful sight isn't it? >> yes. >> ten years but everyone has said the same thing today it's just like nothing. >> to me, first of all, just being at the site brings back a lot of memories and i just can't believe i'm actually here. >> you wrote in your book that in the rubble where you were

you were resting on top of a firefighter in whose coat you used just an incredible thing and of course in your memory it must take nothing to bring yourself back here. that image is with you when you close your eyes. >> yes. it's something i have to live with for the rest of my life. i see it like it just happened yesterday and being under the rubble you know i'm just -- i can believe it's happened. i can't believe i'm actually here. and i know it's part of the reason that i'm here to tell the story and let people know the experience that i've been through. >> if memory serves the name of the dog who latched on to your scent was tracker? >> tracker. >> and tell us briefly since it was all chaos, and the walls came in on you you find yourself in rubble but also after doing a quick triage there came a moment when you realized

you were alive an you pin your hopes on being found. you were found. you were taken out. you're okay. what happens in your life often years? how does it affect your life? >> i mean knowing i was under that rubble and i was touched and someone pulled my hand and pulled me out there was, for the past ten years i'm so grateful. my life has changed so many, physically and emotionally as well. i think about it but i try to get it off my mind and move forward with my life. you got to overcome it. i think about the rescuer the firefighter, the people who risked their life trying to save me. i'm forever grateful. >> the firefighter on whose body you rested, one of 343 members of the fdny. they were rushing in to save

people like you and people they couldn't get to. you're a mother and a wife and you have a robust life that continues. >> yeah. you know, i got married to my boyfriend and i have two other kids after 9/11. i'm blessed in many ways and forever grateful for that. my life has been -- it's a healing process. >> what do you think they have done here? well this is very tremendous to see something like this. it's a decoration of the memories of the people who lost that day and so many other lives. i really admire it. i love it. i think it's something that we have to live for the rest of our life and the memories doesn't do justice of what happened that day. >> of course to those of us who grew up in this area it is still striking that there's nothing -- >> nothing behind. >> in this space.

this was your workplace. this was your world in addition to being the world trade center. >> seeing it today, i'm trying to recall where my building stood actually, and, you know it's unbelievable. i can't imagine. i just imagined that beautiful place before but now it's you know it's all like so different. but, yet, i like what they are doing it rebuilding it. it gives me home that we'll be all right. >> you like the sight of this tower. >> love the towers. >> mayor rudy giuliani -- no two people have the same opinion. we all think differently because it's new york city. >> i think it's beautiful. i really commend them that they put it back there. we got to face our fears and try to move on and i think it reminds me of the families who lost their lives that day. i just want to remember it that way, you know. >> and these waterfalls are so much bigger and more beautiful

in person. >> first time i've seen the waterfalls. it's beautiful. >> we feel honored. i know it's been such an emotion swral time four and we feel honored that your first visit become here i hope we didn't make it more painful on you was to talk to us and share your experiences with our audience and that they can now read your experiences in your book which will last for all time. >> yeah. >> but thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> i'm so happy to talk to you and have you here. thank you, genelle. >> every where around this bit of real estate there are incredible stories from that day. take the firehouse that was always known here locally as the 10 house. new york city fdny engine 10 ladder 10. they were among the hunt degrees of first responders who

converged on ground zero that day. that's because it's the closest firehouse. it's just across the street from what was the base of the world trade center. and here are some of their thoughts in their own words. >> my name is vincent. i worked for new york city fire department engine company number 10 ladder company 10 for 22 years. >> i'm with fire company engine number 10. >> couldn't make sense of what was happening. we were over at the battalion getting on a bus coming to the city. and on my way down just thinking about -- we knew the buildings were down. we were just coming to do recovery, hoping to find somebody. trying to make sense of that much destruction. it was not easy to do. there was no rooms to search or areas to look in.

it was just white dust and wire, metal. couldn't make sense of anything. >> where do you start? because it was just so big. you don't know where to start. we had firemen all over the city. firemen from all over the country helping that night literally digging and searching, you know. literally not even tools buckets and hands. >> it took a while for order. >> some pretty special connections with a lot of the guys. paul was a police officer. i was a police officer. and right from the get go me and paulie kind of, kind of gelled together. we were buddies. he showed me a couple of tricks here and there, a lot of little tricks. and i got to say i miss the guy. i miss him very much. >> a lot of firehouse in the

city made their own memorial. we have the big one on the side of the building that welcomes everyone. which is really nice. it's unbelievable. in this firehouse alone we made our own special memorial. it will be there. as long as the building is here. still can't believe it's ten years. seems like yesterday. we were cleaning up. still cleaning every day. ten years later the work is still going on. they are getting there. nice to see it. pretty high too. >> to me now this firehouse represents every firehouse in the city, in fact every firehouse in the world. everyone comes here and shakes your hand to say hello. it's understood. it's home. it's home. >> what was the base of the world trade center the firehouse they have always called the 10 house.

engine 10, ladder 10 fdny. while those guys are modest as you look at a live picture of its proximity, i was down there last night. i visited many times and one thing that they are always too polite to point out is tourists well wishers and this happens all over the city, especially the house known as 54 and 4 in new york's times square. people mean well and stop by and want to talk and that means that every day for the last ten years the surviving firefighters, rookies included at the 10 house have been forced to live in it, dwell in it and they are allowed to escape only when they are inside in their kitchen or doing their jobs answering an alarm. so it's a highly emotional business. they walk out their door and they see this. this abyss which is now at least filled with the memorial and the skyline behind it is filling up.

again, this is one of a three pronged memorial today. we have the services ongoing at the pentagon and let's not forget shanksville pennsylvania. my friend tamron hall is there heading up our coverage. tamron? >> reporter: brian i'm honored to have patrick white. his cousin was one of the passengers that stormed the cockpit fighting the four terrorists that had taken control. such an honor to be with you. i got to ask you how do you feel ten years later when you look back at the hard work that you and the other families put in to make this memorial a reality? >> i'm very proud we were able to take the first step in creating such a fitting memorial. our partnership with the park service, park foundation and others is just one that has worked so well. we've created something here that is just a symbol to our nation that recognizes the heroism and their selfless sacrifice. >> it wasn't an easy road to

follow. you put in thousands of hours. you helped in securing this land 2,200 acres. it took four years to just get the land. then right after the attacks, a year later president bush signed into law this would be a national park. this was not an easy road. >> no. in fact, we had to go back and work with the bush administration in its last hours on some agreements with one of the landowners and literally came down-to-the-wire at the end of president bush's administration to be able to kind of help break that logjam. >> it's interesting. we were walking around, look telegraph wall that had every name. you see the boulder in the horizon. with all the media and people that turned out to show their respect there's a sense of serenity. >> we were blessed truly that in the architect we had someone who understood what it was that

we were looking for in terms of at least being done with the land and derived the most from it. the design focus on the sacred ground. it amplifies and helps heal the land. >> there's $10 million more need. president clinton said he and john boehner have an agreement to raise that last $10 million. you spoke with the former president. i did. i had an opportunity to talk with him and said the families expect and know you will honor that commitment and we're appreciative of it. >> patrick thank you very much. let me give you a hug. thank you so much. brian, back to you. >> tamron, thank you. emotional day. and we've been watching -- i haven't referenced this but you've been seeing it on television. these carved names are just now being unveiled and so for the families and the hotel that is housing our nbc news team, our

production team is, for example, full of overnight guests of relatives, family members of 9/11. they are just arriving here in new york. i was with a group last night from new mexico and look at the rubbings that they are making since this is the first time that they've been able to see and touch their loved ones names. so it's happening times 3,000 here below us. we're going to be going to the pentagon ceremony in a moment. and richard engel is here with us in new york who is our chief foreign correspondent. i'm sitting here thinking, i think you and i met in baghdad but i really didn't know until just a moment ago where you were on 9/11, you were in jerusalem. >> i was. i haven't been in the united states very much over the last

decade and my experience has been reflective -- >> because of what happened -- >> because of what happened here. it's reflective what happened to the u.s. military since 9/11 more than 2 million troops have been deployed overseas and a lot of them doing multiple tours in iraq and afghanistan. yes. i was in jerusalem at the time of september 11th when the first reports that came out. it was incorrect was that palestinian group was responsible. this event here has changed not only the middle east but the united states and the world perhaps permanently. >> we should point out as we look at today's speakers as we think about today, politics and geopolitics are right there in the background. yes, today is about memories and sadness, but here's president bush millions of americans will always believe that while we've started bombing in afghanistan 26 days after what happened here, the first war we launched,

people will always believe was elective because iraq had nothing to do. >> that message is still lost today. war in afghanistan most people think was necessary, a response was appropriate because this militant group al qaeda, was being harbored by the taliban and the taliban was driven from power in about three months from the september 11th attacks by just 400 or so mostly cia operatives. largely covert war that caught the billion dollars lost one cia agent in that, one cia officer in that conflict. then long afterwards the united states shifted focus to iraq. it was a much more falsely endeavor, had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. that had an impact on the military and impact on the original war in afghanistan and those two wars are still ongoing. u.s. troops are leaving iraq at

the end of this year. but u.s. troops remain in afghanistan. just in the last 24 hours there was a major attack, a big truck bomb. >> 80 americans injured. >> several tons of explosives blew up on this truck bomb in eastern afghanistan. >> hard to believe, richard, we talk about the scars that are still visible this is still a construction site. and the after effects continue around the world even as we have this conversation. our chief foreign correspondent richard engle, thank you. happy to have you here today. again, to the other prong in this and that is washington, the pentagon and david gregory. david? >> reporter: brian the ceremony at the pentagon will begin momentarily. dignitaries have begun to arrive. some notables in washington. vice president biden will speak. so will the chairman of the joint chief admiral mullen. we've seen already gathering

here secretary of defense donald rumsfeld who, of course was secretary of defense on that day ten years ago. and the western facade that was attacked when flight 77 slammed into the outer ring and penetrated three of the rings, has been repaired. was repaired within a year and now the american flag hangs over that side as vice president biden arrives and we'll, of course, mark a movement silence here at 9:37 when the plane struck the pentagon. i'm joined by our correspondents. jim, i want to start with you. brian has alluded to the visible scars at ground zero ten years later and yet as i noted with such military precision and

efficiency, within a year the scars were erased here but remain ten years later. >> that's right. most americans can set aside 9/11 and just observe it on these kinds of anniversaries. but for hundreds of thousands of american military they live and die 9/11 every day. and as we heard from richard engel a moment ago talk about the endless war in afghanistan what's happening now is the pentagon and military officials realize that time and money is running out, that there were some serious mistakes in prosecuting that war often years now, and they realized that with president obama's withdrawal date of 2014 that now really now they only had three years to get it right. but they have to get it right they say because that region, if it were to become destabilized would present according to military officials

breeding grounds for the likes of al qaeda. >> we're watching the presentation of colors here at this military ceremony at the pentagon and, jim if we go back to 9/11 ten years ago and your compelling steady coverage on that morning even after the plane hit the pentagon, an amazing fact that i came across this week, the attack of 9/11 here that killed 184 people 60 years to the day of the groundbreaking of the pentagon built as kind of a bunker impenetrable because no matter what happens this place doesn't stop and hasn't stopped and the symbolism that's hitting this place was very important. >> no question. they were after the military leadership. it was very fortunate the plane hit where did it. had it been around the corner, essentially they could have wiped out the entire civilian military leadership for the united states and part of the building they hit was under renovation so there were far fewer people in that section of

the building when the plane sliced into it and therefore 125, a very small number in comparison to the potential numbers had that been totally occupied. i can tell you, having been here while, this is a living building. i mean the way it was constructed back then just prior to world war ii saved countless numbers of lives in this building. >> andrea mitchell, in watching the documentaries this week of that day, as horrific as the events were in new york there was something about advertise allocation of new york at that particular time of the morning. and then there was something palpable that took it to another level of horror when you heard the pentagon was burning. as tom brokaw described that morning and apprised again this morning america was at war in an instant. >> america was at war. when we realized it after the second plane and within minutes sources were telling us and we were reporting that this could

only be osama bin laden, and i spend so many years covering bin laden from 1993, the first attack on the world trade center and halfway up an official said to me in the white house which i was covering we dodged a bullet in 1993 and they didn't get interest. you had democratic and republican administrations clearly not grasping the nature of this after 1998, the attacks on our embassies in africa, after the october attack on the uss cole in yemen. at that point on 9/11 we realized this was war and that changed our politic our military spending and richard engel has covered it overseas. it changed the nature of our society in so many profound ways. we can't walk around washington, d.c. and enter public buildings and the fact that flight 77 hit here and flight 93 was most likely heading towards the capitol we realized how

vulnerable we were. >> we'll pause for a moment as we approach the moment of silence coming up at 9:37. as we take an image of the ceremony here at the pentagon. ♪ ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me ♪

♪ i once was lost but now i'm found ♪ ♪ was blind but now i see ♪ ♪ 'twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved ♪ ♪ how precious did that grace appear the hour i first believed ♪

♪ through many dangers, toils and snares i have already come ♪ ♪ his grace has brought me safe thus far his grace will lead me home ♪ >> there are those who say that

freedom -- >> as we listen "amazing grace," this pentagon ceremony, a day of so rorks the pentagon sorrow. we fought in wars around the world. brian? >> david thank you. and as we go on up north back here to new york, the governor of new york governor cuomo. >> every where in the world the third is freedom from want every where in the world. the fourth is freedom from fear, anywhere in the world. that is our goal and our strength is in our unity of purpose. to that high concept there can

be no end save victory. >> my name is james smith. retired new york city police officer. five years ago with my daughter patricia at my side i told you about my wife and patricia's mother. who ran into the towers time and time again to save as many people as she possibly could. she sacrificed all that she had and all the richness of life that still laid in front of her in order to save just one more person. she was killed when the south tower collapsed.

since that time patricia has grown and blossomed into at that lovely 12-year-old. the very picture of her mother. with her mom's smile and sense of adventure. our family has grown. patricia now has two little brothers to share her life. five years ago we looked back and gave words to our sorrow. today we remember and share the joy that was brought told of a us and we vow that we will always live in our hearts. >> mom i'm proud to be your daughter. you'll always be my hero and the pride of new york city. [ applause ] ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ [ applause ] >> patrick w.denaghy. >> in honor of my brother john cox, on behalf of his mother father and sister. >> beautiful job by james taylor. part of the emotional ongoing day here as the parade of names continues. again, you're dealing with the

gravity and the length 3000 names here alone in new york. tom brokaw is here with one of the many stories that came out of 9/11. >> one of the things that happened, brian as you well know is that the military was reconfigured. we now hear a lot more after the fact about several operations like delta force and recently again the navy s.e.a.l.s who had a tragic loss in afghanistan they were the people who went in and got osama bin laden. we have the story of a man by the name of jim smith who was a s.e.a.l. on that day and was thinking maybe he ought to retire. so i spent some time with him recently because he now runs the new year's eve s.e.a.l. foundation. >> where were you 9/11 that morning? >> i was fishing on the hudson river with my brother-in-law mike. i was discussing about retiring from the s.e.a.l. team at 20

years. that's where i was on 9/11. watching the buildings tumble as a child that i watched built over years and then in hours you watch it tumble. >> you changed your mind? >> don't even remember changing my mind. my mind was changed for me. >> you went back on active duty after that day of fishing? >> die. >> did you go to afghanistan? >> i deployed as required. >> answered like a true s.e.a.l.. no more information than is necessary. missions not words define this elite fighting force. >> there's a bonding that goes on with the s.e.a.l.s and the determination to stay out of the limelight. >> our friendship and everything is forged through adversity. when you go into s.e.a.l. training you have a boat on for six months. you're in cold water. you'll watch a class of 175 solid young men dwindle to 25.

so that forging starts early. so many of these men that are my brothers they are fighting this fight so their children don't have to. >> the navy s.e.a.l.s were front and center of the biggest triumph of the last several years, finding osama bin laden executing him and getting home safely. what did you think when you saw all of that? >> when i first heard the news like the average american i was pleased. it was a national victory. >> after his retirement from the s.e.a.l.s in april of this year smith accept ad new mission. to lead the navy s.e.a.l. foundation which provides everything from financial and educational help to grief counselling for s.e.a.l. families. on august 6th when 17 s.e.a.l.s along with 13 other servicemen and a dog were killed in a crash of a helicopter on a mission in eastern afghanistan back home

the s.e.a.l. foundation went to duty stations. >> you expect it from your teammates through the worst of things you see the best in people. >> do the rest of this country understand what's going on, the remainder of the civilian population outside of the military rank? >> due to the recent outpouring of gratitude that we've seen after this tragedy i would say more know now than did a month ago. by optimistic side says yes, these guys are not going to stop. they are in for the long haul. support to them is more important than ever. >> that's another dimension to our lives, brian is we have foundations to support these force and as we speak, bill wilson is the captain of the training center in california, another class in the water at this hour doing the equivalent of carrying a boat on their heads for two march tons during whooeblg. we have a different military in

a lot of ways. >> each team gets a log in the water and to a point you always make americans look at these clips of training as a novelty not to be too flip about it compared to the all in involvement after world war ii. now with our volunteer force, most people in happy, healthy civilian life in america don't have a kid or a dad or a mom in this fight. >> you don't get drafted. you have to step up. you have to volunteer to do it. so many of them come from our working class and middle class and not from people who really represent the elite of america and the higher income groups. nothing is asked the rest of us. i think that's if not a failure a greatly missed you want the of the last ten years. >> one we can't point out often enough. tom brokaw thanks and thanks to the naechvy s.e.a.l.s. back to washington and david

gregory. >> to the pentagon. "the battle hymn of republic" and we'll hear from vice president biden. ♪ in the beauty of the new year's eve ♪ ♪ christ was born across the sea ♪ ♪ the sea with a beauty that transfigures you and me ♪ ♪ as he died to make men holy let us die to make men free ♪ ♪ while god is marching on ♪

♪ glory glory hallejulah glory, glory hallejulah glory, glory hallejulah his truth is marching on ♪ ♪ glory, glory hallejulah glory, glory hallejulah glory, glory hallejulah ♪ ♪ his truth is marching on ♪ ♪ on ♪ ♪ on >> and you are watching the

pentagon ceremony here honoring those fallen after flight 77 struck the west side of the pentagon. the site of the memorial itself. in just a moment, we will hear from vice president biden, who will allude to something that is so personal for him, and that is getting a call out of the blue to hear such horrific news that he went through in his own life as he identifies with the victims of september 11. secretary of defense panetta speaking now. jim miklaszewski, our pentagon correspondent, was recently at general david petraeus' retirement ceremony, and he talked about how the military has changed in the course of two wars since the attacks. >> well, there's no question about it. you can see the transformation immediately after 9/11. they went from a big footprint military with huge tanks and artillery to a much smaller more agile force spearheaded in

large part by the special operations forces, which have grown ex po nentially. they have been so critical in taking down many of these terrorist targets. at night in silence, unheralded. nevertheless, they are doing a tremendous job. >> and andrea mitchell, as we await the vice president, al qaeda hit us on 9/11. the state of al qaeda today is what? >> al qaeda is diminished. i don't think there's any question that the top leadership, not only bin laden but key operatives have been diminished. but it has metastasized. and now we have offshoots in yemen, somalia, and elsewhere. who are not as organizationally as adept, but can still hit us. given the current threat outlook right now. i think the state of our intelligence community has radically shifted. a lot of criticism still. but you when you look back at the 9/11 commission what has not been done has been pointed out but what's been done is considerable. >> and jim miklaszewski, as we await vice president biden in

the course of this pentagon ceremony, we also think about the fact that we do appear to be in a state of perpetual war. 10 years on the united states is still trying to figure out how wars in iraq and afghanistan really end. >> there's no question about it. and all of the active duty and retired military experts i have talked to just over the past three, four months, they are all talking about not the end of the war in afghanistan, not the war -- end of the war in iraq. but they are talking about a perpetual battle against this kind of militancy that they believe will stretch through at least the first half of this century. so we're talking about another 30, 40 years of this kind of war. not in these kinds of numbers. but certainly that america is going to be on a defensive and offensive military footing for the next 30 to 40 years. >> it's daunting to think about. andrea daunting as we hear this plane overhead, and brian made

this observation speaking to president obama yesterday. we still live in this city, where approximateproximity to the pentagon and the white house which are still very vulnerable, and yet there's not been another large-scale attack. but those protections that have been put in place have hardened the target of the united states. >> they have changed our lives and diminished our lives and access but have protected us. and knock on wood i'm superstitious enough, we haven't had another attack. but i think that the lone wolf could still do a huge amount of damage. we haven't talked enough probably about weapons of mass destruction. and our vulnerabilities, the tunnels and the trains, we all know about that. and the fact that as lee hamilton and tom keen, the co-chairs of the 9/11 commission pointed out the other day we are not communicating as well as we need to still with local responders. >> jim, i want to bring it back to also to memory and those who

were killed here, 184. there is a difference in scale between new york and here. and it was easy on the attacks for the pentagon, as horrible as it was, to be overshadowed by virtue of what happened in new york. >> and one would think that perhaps people here at the pentagon would resent that somewhat, but it's just the opposite. the remarkable thing about 9/11 is even though this building was on fire, as the rescue and recovery efforts were still underway, just across the other side of the building senior military and pentagon officials were in the tank, the national military command center, already planning the war. they did not stop to take a breath, to feel sorry for themselves, in the least little bit. they all got down to work to try to not only defend on that day but understand what ramification -- what was going to be required in the months and years ahead.

>> we talk about the costs, andrea of the response to 9/11. more than half of what's estimated to be over $3 trillion in this past decade was to fight this nation's wars, first in afghanistan and then in iraq. it's staggering to think about that level of cost. as the debate went on throughout and continues today, whether it was the right reaction. >> and we still haven't fully calculated the expense of protection and of the other intelligence that we don't know about, what is unseen and the black operations that all part of that as well. so that is a very big number. and it is a number many would argue that right now our vulnerability is economic and our weakness is structurally -- economically structural. and that we spent a decade on the military side about, but we didn't look more deeply at how we were

not dealing with the entitlements and everything else that have expanded beyond belief. >> exactly. as we approach a fourth moment of silence within a couple of moments, jim miklaszewski we talk about the people who volunteered to serve. we have an all volunteer force. but you can't say enough how a generation of warriors were prepared for this moment when they would be called. that's part of what living in the military is like. you prepare prepare prepare and then a moment like this comes. >> that's exactly right. the response to this was remarkably swift. unfortunately, it wasn't decisive. and that still remains the problem today. >> yeah. we are approaching another milestone this morning as we look back 10 years later. we're going to throw it back to brian up in new york. >> all of it is a tough business, david. and the next event here is going to be at 9:59, as you mentioned. to mark the moment when the

south tower fell. remember second structure hit first to fall here in new york, as we all watched on television in collective disbelief. and then of course at 10:03, that was the impact in shanksville, pennsylvania. let's listen in to the reading of the names prior to the moment of silence. >> and loved very much, >> and to my father, we love you so much. keep watching over us, handsome.