>> megyn: we are waiting an emotional tribute as the nation remembers the many lives taken away from us. i'm megyn kelly in ground zero in downtown manhattan. can we just show where we are. this is ground zero. you have been seeing this shot all day. this building behind me, if you can see it right there, that is the new freedom tower. that is under construction right now. the reflecting pools. you can sort of see them in the distance. there is one beyond the green trees there. there is one and thin another one both where the imprint of the two towers once stood. they have chosen to mark those, each one is about an acre and they mark those with reflecting

pools which is diagonal behind the spot where i am located right now. the memorial opening for the family and museum almost open about another year they are saying. we'll have more on that this hour. in the meantime, back to washington where the president will lay down a wreath for the 184 men, women and children who are were killed when hijackers crashed an airplane into the peagon. misinforms 6 all who were lost there. >> we all remember and to come mourn and to honor. but the greatest honor we bestow is the finest tribute we pay lies not in our gathering but lies in our hearts and lies in our deed. >> he tries to weaken us but instead they made us stronger.

in the aftermath we came together and we affirmed those values, our shared beliefs in liberty, equality, tolerance and fairness. >> my prayer for you is that ten years later we will think of you. ten years later we will think of you. it brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye. >> this is video from earlier today when an american flag was unfurled over the wall where the plane struck. national security correspondent joins us live from the pentagon. >> we are waiting for the president he is making his way down from new york and down from shanksville. she should be here within the hour. he is going to lay a wreath, the zero age line, the granite rock

where september 11th, 2001 is written and not far from the youngest member of flight 77, american airlines flight 77 dana faukenberg rests and where the flight struck the building at dawn in the morning. the rest of the ceremony was carried out with military precision at exactly 9:37 to mark the 184 people who were killed that day began. the water on the memorial was turned off and amazing grace was sung. let's hear more of what mike mullen and joe biden said this morning. >> these are the things that terrorists could not eradicate. they could bring down the walls, but they could not bring down america. they could kill our citizens but

they could not kill our citizenship. >> those in that building that day knew what they were witnessing. it was declaration of war by stateless actors bent on changing our way of life who believe that these horrible acts these horrible acts of terror directed against innocence could buckle our knees, could bend our will, to begin to break us. >> reporter: just as the ceremony ended about 100 new york firefighters and two wounded vets who lost their legs in afghanistan and had traveled 343 miles over the past five days, a mile for every firefighter lost on september 11th, they sang god bless america on a hill overlooking

the pentagon. >> we arrived about half an hour ago. it was mixed emotions. it was a somber day for us, remembering all the great people we lost, in the fire department but all the great americans we lost. >> reporter: defense secretary leon panetta reminded the crowd of more than 1200 family members of those that were killed, he reminded them of 6200 service members that have given their lives in afghanistan and iraq, about twice as many that were killed on september 11th. >> megyn: there are 100 9/11 memorials around the country but the memorial at ground zero has a couple unique features. first is how they list the victims' names on the bronze panels.

they are grouped by association. fight fighters, friend with friends and co-workers. they are being placed if possible according to special connection kgss. if two of the victims knew each other or one was on plane and one worked in a building you will find their names next to the plaque. there are two pools where the two towers once stood, each one about one acre square. water rushes 30 feet on a side and falls in the center. recovery teams only found the remains of 60% of the ground zero victims. 40% never received anything back. had joe daniels is the ceo of the memorial and museum. we were talking before the segment, if you lost a loved one and friend in connection with the attack you are bearing

witness to history. next thing you are running the effort to create the memorial, the museum, broad view for folks who haven't been following it as closely as you have. what do we expect to go up? >> the site is 16 acres. 8 acres is new commercial buildings, one world trade center. we dedicated in a ceremony in the thousands of victims is the national 9/11 memorial. two reflecting pools, the names of 2983 victims that died that day in a grove of hundreds of oak trees. to have the families come and touched their loved ones has made it worth. >> it was the decision in the actual site? >> it was balance. we thought that of the 16 acres. we need to have a commercial response. buildings that are higher than those that were knocked down but

at the heart of the site in the interior eight acres, those footprints are sacred ground. so the idea was to create the largest manmade water falls in the country and give family members to stand at those pools in front of their loved ones' names on. >> megyn: asked them how they felt or ask them how they felt and the reviews have been so positive, i know you said you were hoping the waterfalls would be a i equivalent of moment of silence. what i'm hearing but you succeeded? >> it's incredible. we saw the range of human emotions. some families, very tearful, having the moment of grief that took them back ten years ago, families setting up little picnics and smiles on their faces, you saw the whole range. all of them understood they

wanted to mike it special to them. we have 225 trees on the plaza but all the same can expect for one, they are swamp oak. there was tree discovered on 9/11 on the world trade center, 95 destroyed. couple park workers brought it up to park in the bronx and was struck by lightning but we brought it back to the site and it is flourishing and it is the survivor tree. the number of notes that were left by that tree is a symbol of this entire nation's resilience. >> the museum opens in another year. what kind of things can people expect? >> museum is going fulfill education obligation to tell the story of what happened. stories of billy burke of engine 21, we brought back the fire truck bloat footprint. a story about captain burke

ordering his men out of the building to safety while he stayed behind trying to rescue a quadriplegic. it's going to oob number of artifacts that tell this story that what woe went through but how we responded. >> what about the freedom tower, who would work in a building in the same spot or right next to the same spot? >> there are many things, this country, we are not afraid of anything. they just recently signed a big lease with a big publishing company. its beautiful building. hands down the safest building in the world. it recaptures the new york skyline and be a privilege to work there especially when you look out your window and see an eight acres of 400 trees with the most beautiful pools you'll ever see. >> molly: another three buildings going up? >> part of the commercial

response is the other building. there are towers, two, three and four, tower two, second tallest building on the site is actually taller than the empire state building. its partially about recapturing the skyline and all these commercial buildings that are phenomenal. >> megyn: i know some family members objected, the reason it's taken ten years, because so many people going in different directions. do you have statistics who approve what is being done? >> nothing hard and fast. if i had to say from my experience out there, it's well over the 98% threshold. i think the reason that is, that moment of interaction, whether a family likes the design or liked us or didn't like us, the moment they touch their loved one's name, they see the care putting

that moment to happen. i think we did okay. >> megyn: when you said, a woman that worked in the trade tower who knew a friend that was on one of the flights and families were permitted to make and they were granted. thank you so much for your hard work. back to you. >> megyn: we are eight waiting the aarrival of president obama and first lady at pentagon. there are already significant arrivals showing up. we are live at pentagon next. it was the attack on 9/11 that sent america into war in afghanistan. the longest engagement in our history. coming up a deeper look at the impact on america's military. we will go inside ground zero in the days after 9/11 with workers from fema in images you have

never seen before. ♪

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>> megyn: as we await a memorial service from the pentagon. president obama will lay a wreath honoring the 184 people killed when an american airlines flight crashed into the pentagon on 9/11. this is an area into the pentagon and devastation there that so often doesn't get as much attention on the 9/11 anniversary because of the shear death toll at ground zero and also the heroics we saw with flight 93 in shanksville. pentagon nearly 200 people died

that day serving their country within those buildings. including the folks that were on flight 77 which crashed into it, one notably, the former solicitor general, ted olson. we'll take you to that important ceremony. as we remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks, it's hard to forget the huachbt go images of that day. for the first time in ten years never before seen video has been released showing the rescue efforts and catastrophic aftermath in the area that would become known as ground zero. in the days after 9/11 as the nation in shock, rescue workers spent day and night combing through massive pit of steel at the site of the world

trade center. painstaking search for survivors would too soon end in heartbreak rescuers standing side by side praying over the body of a victim. moments later the body is carefully carried down from the rubble draped in an american flag. these are images from a newly released video from fema. they spent 89 months documenting every aspect of the scene in lower manhattan. but the video was never released until now. it shows rescuers descending into the subway station beneath ground zero greeted by unforgettable images, a subway train buried in dust and debris, a car swallowed into a gaping hole. still other cars left untouched except for the thick cover of death, and clocks stopped just before 10:00.

inside an abandoned deli, newspapers thought they would be big headlines of the day. "new york post" having the city mayoral election and then there are scenes like this, a message, rest in peace. he was one of 343 firefighters and paramedics killed on 9/11. he was a husband and father of five children. over 3,000 children lost a parent that day. rescue workers spent days searching for trapped survivors climbing through small holes and walking down dark hallways, areas they once knew, now unrecognize be a. listen to one man what he saw. >> i was tunneling through debris. as i proceed this mess, the mangle of metal and remnants of

office spaces and building i was able to pop a hole and peered in and look around. i realized this is a subway station. this was an area that since the collapse of the towers known as bennett. >> the cadaver dogs searched for victims as investigators searched for evidence. the plane that crashed into the north tower, eventually the massive pile of rubble is cleared. destroyed office equipment and remains of victims that would never beidentified all carefully removed. cameras capturing it all and as the months passed by the gaping scar the attacks left behind would be revealed and the banner hanging over ground zero reminds the workers and the nation that we will never forget.

>> megyn: we are minutes away from president obama's arrival at the pentagon. he was at ground zero earlier today. at the pentagon he will lay a wreath at the site where flight 77 went down taking down 184 souls with it. somber tribute to lives lost when the president arrives he will bring it up. stay with us. ♪ new york ♪ concrete jungle where dreams are made of ♪ ♪ there nothing you can't do ♪ now you're in new york ♪ one hand in their for the big city ♪ ♪ street lights, big dreams all looking pretty ♪ ♪ no place in the world that can compare ♪ ♪ put your lighters in the air ♪ everybody say yeah, yeah ♪ yeah, yeah ♪ in new york ♪ concrete jungle where dreams are made of ♪ ♪ there's nothing you can't do

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>> megyn: we are awaiting president obama and first lady that will soon take part in a wreath laying ceremony at the pentagon. it has placed a great burden on the military since 9/11 but charles krauthammer says the war

on terror has been an historic win for our nation. lieutenant colonel ross peters is author of "lines of fire." thank you so much for being here. krauthammer says the weakening of al-qaeda and what tours a strong horse into a weak horse this unrelenting war on terror. he talks about afghanistan and he talks about iraq too saying it wound up being decisive? >> charles drought ham ser really wrong. he may be greatest political column enlist our country but he is right on this. nobody can give anybody else credit for getting anything right. the fact is after the tragedy of 9/11 we've had a really good decade and al-qaeda has had a disastrously bad one. ten years on.

al-qaeda central is finished. it relies on regional franchises most effective leaders including bin laden are all dead. millions of muslims have turned against them. they have lost the base of support in the islamic world because it turned out that al-qaeda's number one skill was killing muslims. we have a ways to go. terrorism in some form will be with us for a long time, islamic terrorism. we've got to move forward. keep killing terrorists and knock off, but psycho like major hada to slip through the cracks and prevents us from executing khalid shaikh mohammed. >> megyn: as the ceremony begins we'll go their live. what we need to do is stop scare

mongering. you talk about the threat that we reported this week of possible car bomb here in the united states two, perhaps three operatives planning something. you say that underscores how weakened al-qaeda is? >> so far al-qaeda hasn't been able to pop a fire crack other this anniversary. god forbid, let's say they explode a car bomb in manhattan or washington, we will lose more americans to drunk driving this weekend. i was taking terrorism very seriously a long time before much of anybody else did, long time before 9/11 but have to be balanced an objective. the threat is still there. but it's not the threat of 9/11. al-qaeda is broken back snake. it still has poison in the fangs but our men and women in uniform and intelligence community have

done an effective job in the last ten years. i think it's time to stop whining and be proud. >> megyn: colonel ross peters, thank you very much. we'll go live to the pentagon and listen in. [ applause ]

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> megyn: president laying a wreath at the pentagon and now go into the memorial to greet families and survivors. you could hear some of the folks for the ceremony.

we caught some of the rendition of amazing grace. the pentagon was hit on 9/11 and american flight number 77 crashed into it. part of the pentagon collapsed and three of the five pentagon rings were damaged. two million square feet in all damaged by the attack. 184 people were killed. pentagon buildings, 125 and another 59 people on board american flight 77. it was said to have been, building was only partially occupied and been recently renovated and there far more people in, the death toll would have been much higher if it was fully occupied but nonetheless 184 people lost their lives that

day. some serving their country and some just trying to take an airline flight. they are greetd greeting observers and they will continue their afternoon in washington. we will continue our coverage in moments here. stay with us. ♪

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>> megyn: president obama talking with family members of those lost at the pentagon in washington, d.c. a retired admiral and navy commander and he had the response after the 9/11 attacks. he joins me from washington. thank you so much foreing here. you actually arrived at the pentagon later that day after the attacks, tell us what you saw? >> that morning, i left home to go to annapolis to be with mid shipmen and little did i know we would be facing war in a few months. all the bridges had been closed and highways were cleared. so i was advised once i reached the national military command center, i should try to goet go home and get encyclopedia and i

would be called in. about 11:00 p.m. i got a call and told a policeman was to bring in the pentagon. i could see a bright light which i thought were lights but it turned out it was in fact the fire of the building itself. bright enough to show all the smoke out there as well. from there i had to go through checkpoints and oxygen mask and crawl into the pentagon. >> megyn: you say you heard people screaming and focused worried that another plane was coming. you heard all sorts of rumors in the chaos of the moment? >> that is right. for a number of days. as we all know the air traffic control system was shut down including reagan national. only airplanes that were flying we knew were authorized and military flights that were patrolling the sky. from time to time when i went outside the command center, stampede of people came rushing past me they were screaming

another airplane is coming up the river. it's unfortunate but it was chaos of the day. >> megyn: describe what it was like to you. devoted your life in the service and seeing that kind of war zone right here on domestic soil. >> for me personally, it was a day of frustration and anger. i was an operator and i wanted to be out on the field. i wanted to be in the fleet being able to deliver what i thought we were going to be doing and helped to plan that was going to be done. it was frustrating to be in the building while my colleagues are out in the war. at the same time i was telling part of the story and work on it as well. >> megyn: you did begin planning at the pentagon. we heard it from our own president at the time that the people that knocked down those buildings not to mention the pentagon and killed the folks in

shanksville, pennsylvania we're going to hear from all of us soon but there was men and women that needed to do it? >> i had a very good feeling who had been had done this to us. we had been tracking osama bin laden for years. we tracked and monitored his movement. he was the only one and funding and likely the personal determination to pull this off. the question became first and foremost where was he? when we started to narrow that down, it quickly came to us where he was going to be. then it was going through the options what was the other things we could do. >> megyn: when you look back now ten years later, bin laden dead, al-qaeda severely damaged if not entirely beaten, depends on who you ask, the al-qaeda that existed then, put it in perspective where are we versus ten years ago?

>> in one sense we're a lot safer and better off than we were ten years ago because we focused the nation and all of our national capabilities on this particular threat. what i'm still concerned about and what i hear and read sometimes is that the decade post 9/11 chapter is closing and we're going to go into a new decade. i've got concern with that. i think we cannot underestimate the franchises of al-qaeda, how they dispersed, where they are operating and the facts of the matter, there are people and cells still inside the united states that could do something and we have to keep our vigilance up. >> megyn: good point to leave it on. thank you so much for your service. names engraved at the memorial, are we any safer than we were ten years ago? are we really safer or do we

just feel that way because there hasn't been an attack? we'll talk to one man who says the government and we'll be back in three minutes on that. ♪ ♪

>> megyn: in the months that followed 9/11, government established an independent 9/11 commission to recommend ways to fight terrorism and prevent another strike but one group of 9/11 families says some of those recommendationsays they have not been implemented and overall grade to america's response, a "d" plus. joining me whose son jamie died on 9/11 at just 23 years old. here is the president of the families for a secure america.

here, when i look at the photo, he looks like a baby. i know you haven't been down to ground zero on 9/11 since the 9/11 attacks? >> right zbreem thank you very much for doing that today. >> you're welcome. >> megyn: what the number one thing that concerns you today ten years after the attacks what we haven't done to protect homeland? >> two things, failure for orders, they stated the fact that terrorists can't get in the country they can't commit terrorist acts in the country. the commission detailed how they got visas. how they obtained driver's licenses and able to hide in plain sight where they planned to carry out their acts. fundamental conditions have not changed in ten years. we have millions upon millions of illegal aliens. as everybody understands every illegal alien is an undocumented

person. that means that every illegal alien they could strike and any could be the next mohammad atta. >> megyn: how can that be? >> you have huge alliance, the aclu and left wing churches aligned with business groups on the right. u.s. chamber of commerce, bankers, lawyers, manufacturers who employ illegal aliens. they have an unusual alliance. it may be unique of left and right working for open borders each for their own reasons but the fact is toward the same goal which is open borders and free access to this country which means that nblly among the machines of people that are unscreened some of them will be the next mohammad atta. >> megyn: what do you want to see done?

>> one thing would be nice besides from securing our borders but end the system of revolving doors. one that was u.s. ambassador to saudi arabia after being in the senate later on went to work for a think tank partially funded by the saudis. there is a constant stream of officials and administration who after leaving so-called public servicing to work for private or semi private entities that are if under had directly or indirectly by saudis. before they leave government service, question is whether they are thinking more of their retirement or whether they are thinking what their obligation to the united states. another thing is, the mind set. 9/11 commission detailed very explicitly how three -- it was state department members were responsible for the policies in

violation of u.s. law that allowed the terrorists to get visas without any secondary screening. they were named by the commission. yet the colin powell state department gave each of these people a performance bonus for their work in 2001 and all given promotions. one of the promotion in the case of mary ryan she had to be confirmed by the senate. this is mindset in our government where you can leave government service and then work for the people that -- it works in terms of international relations, as well. there is this revolving door. i would like to see people that work in government in any capacity whether it's elected or appointed are prohibited from lobbying for a number of years after that. >> megyn: is it ka cathartic?

>> it has been and in a way there is much power on the other side, so much money, we've made so little progress. you've got sanctuary cities in this country. cities refusing to work with ice. >> you have this on your side? >> it means nothing. it means nothing to the big businesses and the political interests that want open borders. my son and the thousands of others that were killed on 9/11 and plus those killed constituent in ordinary street crimes by illegal aliens it means nothing to the aclu or bankers association on and particular chamber of commerce, it's just the process of doing business. >> megyn: thank you so much for coming down here.

thank you very much. >> megyn: up next, coping with tragedy. for the past ten years, one new york family has kept their thoughts about 9/11 very private. now, they break their silence to honor a special hero. heart-wrenching memories of the loving husband and dad lost ten years ago today. ♪ i'm a film star. well, i'm a film, left behind by a floor cleaner i thought was going to take me places. wait! now life is dull... darling! ♪ i believe in miracles [ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. swiffer wetjet's new upgraded solution loosens and lifts off dirt to help prevent streaks and residue. and reveal more shine than a mop or your money back.

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♪ y staggering figures of 9/11. more than 3,000 children lost a

mother or father on that terrible day. today many of those children rely on a photo or other things to get through the hard times. we spoke to one family that is breaking the silence of their hero dad and father. >> it was the first day of school. like casey, joe 14, shannon 12 and kaitlin 10 are excited about new year and shocked they received homework on the first day. the score family is focused a lot more than that. they are going to mark ten whole years since their dad was killed. >> he was in the south tower. they were going up pretty high to help other people in distress. >> her husband always dreamed of

becoming a firefighter. >> he worked in the city at a desk job. his father was a lieutenant in the fire department. he was retired but wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. it was his goal to end up that way. >> he achieved that goal only weeks before september 11th, 2001. at the time joe and colleen's children ranged from six to six months. then it happened. >> he spoke to me that morning. as a matter of fact i was on the phone when he got the call. i was just feeding the baby. i had the news on. i saw the first plane hit. i said, wow, i guess i won't see him until midnight. >> reporter: midnight came and went and joe never made it home. >> i remember the first night, i

was thinking in my head, how am i going to do this. i didn't sign up for this. this wasn't supposed to happen. >> reporter: about a month after september 11th, colleen received a call. joe's helmet had been found fully intact a few blocks from ground zero. >> i prayed for him and i prayed for his wedding ring and then i prayed for the helmet. we got the helmet back. >> this photo was taken when my dad -- it was taken after there was a fire. there was jaws fire and what he loved to do. he was so happy afterwards. >> reporter: for the children growing up without their dad has been hard, but they found comfort every summer at a camp for the children of 9/11. >> just going there and helping

us. >> it was like the best thing. >> unfortunately this was the camp's last summer but it will always be a part of their lives. >> we remember the opening ceremonies but this year final ceremonies. a copy to have with us all the time. >> reporter: but it's the memories of their dad that gets them through the hard times. >> i like to see my dad a happy guy. he was always singing in the house. and i would wake up and i would smell pancakes and i would get excited because we would call them daddy flapjacks and he would make the best than anyone. >> when i got out, he would put my hair into a mohawk. >> reporter: even the youngest have memories.

>> he would kiss me and i remember. >> ten years gone, but he is a role model to the family he left behind. >> i'm proud of what he did down there. i know he was killed doing what he loved and i wouldn't want it any other way. >> megyn: thanks to our reporter for that report. colleen has set up a memorial fund that provides scholarships in her hometown to high school seniors. countless people 60 miles from ground zero witnessing a powerful tribute. nearly hundred searchlights two bright columns straight into the heavens. tonight illicit shine brightest at dusk staying on until monday

morning. organizers of the tribute say their funding runs out this year. many people, however, believe it should be continued for years to come. thanks for being with us for special coverage. i'm megyn kelly and our coverage remembering ten years later continues with neil cavuto. as we say goodbye, we want to thank the production staff who has been working tirelessly for weeks to put together the special coverage that would be appropriate and special. thank you for being with us. ♪ ♪ where dreams are made of ♪ ♪ there nothing you can't do ♪ now you're in new york ♪ one hand in the air for the big city ♪ ♪ street lights, big dreams all looking pretty ♪ ♪ no place in the world that can compare ♪ ♪ put your lighters in the air

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