Staff Sgt. Paul Germain, airborne communications system operator, Air Force One: We thought it was weird even just when the first plane hit. People who know airplanes, thats some real stuff right there. Big airplanes just dont hit little buildings. Then, as soon as that second plane hit, that switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree.
Col. Mark Tillman: Everything started coming alive. We were hooked into the PEOC [the White House bunker] and the JOC [Joint Operations Center], for the Secret Service. Theyre all in the link now.
Andy Card: Another plane hit the other Tower. My mind flashed to three initials: UBL. Usama bin Laden. Then I was thinking that we had White House people theremy deputy, Joe Hagin, and a team were in New York preparing for the U.N. General Assembly. I was thinking that Joe was probably at the World Trade Center, thats where the Secret Service office was, in the basement.
Mike Morell: I was really worried that someone was going to fly a plane into that school. This event had been on schedule for weeks, anyone could have known about it. Eddie [Marinzel, the lead Secret Service agent] wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as possible.
Rep. Adam Putnam: Theres some debate within the staff that I can hear about how the president needs to address the nation. Theyre saying, We cant do it here. You cant do it in front of fifth-graders. The Secret Service is saying, Youre doing it here or youre not doing at all. Were not taking the time to do it somewhere else. We need to get him secure.
Dave Wilkinson: Were talking to folks back at the White House, were beginning to get the motorcade up and running, getting the motorcycle cops back, were ready to evacuate at a moments notice. All of a sudden it hits me: The presidents the only one who doesnt know that this plane has hit the second building. It was a discomfort to all of us that the president didnt know. The event was dragging on, and thats when Andy Card came out.
Andy Card: A thousand times a day, a chief of staff has to ask Does the president need to know? This was an easy test to pass. As strange as it sounds, as I was standing there waiting to talk to the president, I was reflecting on another time that Id had to be the calm one: Id been acting chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush when he threw up on the Japanese prime minister. I was all business in that moment. Hed refused to get in the ambulancehe didnt want anyone to see the president get in the ambulanceand in the limo, hes still sick and hes getting sick on me. In the hotel, I take out my laminated in case of emergency card. I went down my checklist. I was telling people, Hes not dying, hes still the president. My job that day was to be calm, cool, and collected. Not the same magnitude, of course, but I knew my job on 9/11 was to be calm, cool, and collected.
Karl Rove: I remember [Andy Card] pausing at the door, before he went in, it seemed like forever, but it was probably just a couple heartbeats. I never understood why, but he told me, years later, that he needed to spend a moment formulating the words he wanted to use.
Andy Card: When I was standing at the classroom door, I knew I was delivering a message that no president would want to hear. I knew that my message would define the moment. I decided to pass on two facts and an editorial comment. I didnt want to invite a conversation because the president was sitting in front of the classroom. I entered the room and Ann Compton, of ABC, in the press pool, gestured, Whats up? I gestured back to her, two planes crashing. She gestured What? Then the teacher asked the students to take out their books, so I took that opportunity to approach the president. I whispered in his ear, A second plane hit the second Tower. America is under attack. I took a couple steps back so he couldnt ask any questions. The students were completely focused on their books. I remember thinking what a bizarre stage were standing on. I was pleased with how the president reactedhe didnt do anything to create fear.
Ellen Eckert, stenographer, White House: There are six stenographers who work for the [White House] press office. One of us always travels with the president. I always said I typed fast for a living all over the world. [That morning] was uneventful until Andy walked in.
Ari Fleischer: For Andy to interrupt a presidential event, [we knew] it had to be of monumental consequence. You just didnt do that.
Master Sgt. Dana Lark: Everything started lighting up. We saw Andy Card whisper in the presidents ear. We still didnt know what the hell was going on. Were just monitoring the Secret Service and staff radio channels. It was chaos. Whats next? All of a sudden, other reports start coming inexplosion at the White House, car bomb at the State Department. Were under attack. I was 35 years old. My military career and my perspective is, Im thinking Cold War, the big bad Soviet bear. This was an extensive attack. Could this be a nation-state?
Gordon Johndroe: Having been in that roomand it wasnt an issue until the Michael Moore documentary [Fahrenheit 9/11]it would have been odd if hed jumped up and ran from the room. It didnt seem like an eternity in the room. He finished the book and went back into the hold room.
Karl Rove: When the president walked back into the staff hold, he said, Were at wargive me the FBI director and the vice president.
