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Remembering 9/11: Pentagon Honors Victims in Ceremony; Steelers Face Headset Issues Against Pats. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 11, 2015 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[09:30:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As you know, Barbara Olson was killed. She was on her way for a taping of the Bill Maher show, "Politically Incorrect." She called her husband moments before the plane crashed and asked him what she should do and then Ted Olson never heard from her again.

Barbara Starr is also - let's listen. Why don't we listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The flag on the Pentagon building. The flag hangs today from sunrise to sunset in honor of Patriot Day and in remembrance of the 184 lives lost at the Pentagon.

Ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem of the United States performed by the United States Navy Brass Quintet.

Ladies and gentlemen, the United States Navy Chief of Chaplains Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben.

REAR ADM. MARGARET KIBBEN, UNITED STATES NAVY CHIEF OF CHAPLAINS: If you would, please pray with me.

God, our creator, words cannot express the depth and breadth of feelings that are present in this gathering. As only can - you can give grace to our attempts to articulate our thoughts and hear our prayers. Hear our prayers of intercession for those for whom this day only serves to open deep wounds of grief and loss. Bless this day those who understandably still mourn the events of that fateful day. Continue to strengthen, comfort and console them and allow their resilience to be a source of inspiration and healing to this great nation.

Hear our prayers of gratitude for those who gave the full measure of their devotion, the first responders, the unsung host of civilians and those in uniform who perished serving within these walls or who sacrificed their lives in the years that have followed in defense of this country. Hear our prayers for guidance as we seek to uphold and maintain the memory of those whom we honor. Strengthen this country with unity and resolve as we still face threats to our liberties.

In our zeal, may our desire for peace not be an excuse to abuse our power and our need for justice not be jaded with hate. May we who remain live to serve your carefully and faithfully to preserve the freedom and future of the United States.

All mighty God, we lift up these prayers to call upon your will to transform this ceremony to serve us, our grief to grace and our fellowship to a future framed with hope that those who so valiantly died that day would be honored in our prayers and by our lives. In the strength of your name, we pray. Amen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, 14 years ago, at 9:37 a.m., the Pentagon was attacked. Please join us in observing a moment of silence to remember those who perished.

[09:35:26] Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff General Paul Selva.

GEN. PAUL SELVA, VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Mr. Secretary, distinguished guests, friends and family of survivors and the fallen, thank you for being here for this morning's ceremony.

My wife Ricki and I offer a very special welcome to each and every one of the survivors and the families and friends of those who lost their lives on these grounds 14 years ago today. We know these memorial ceremonies, and you've been through many, are tough, emotional filled moments for you. And we thank you for being here with us.

It takes a great deal of courage to come back on a day like today that's not unlike that day in 2001. That can bring back such stark - in such stark relief that first raw moment when everything changed. Your grief, your solace, so personal to you, is shared with all of us in this nation.

Today our nation joins you to reflect and to remember the 184 lives that ended here at the Pentagon and those that perished in New York and at Somerset County. They were all fellow Americans, members of our nation's family, members of our families. But today is about strength and resolve. We find strength in the children and spouses of the survivors who carried on and who were here to celebrate the memory of their relatives. They have blossomed into great families and into fine young men and women that we should all be very, very proud of. And they are out there today making their mark on our world.

I also see in the eyes of members of this audience the resolve of this nation, to defend freedom and liberty wherever it is challenged. An entire generation of young American men and women have put their lives on the line for the concepts of freedom and liberty that we hold dear. Today offers all of us an opportunity to rededicate our lives to those causes, to the things that make this nation great.

Ricki and I appreciate all of you being here to share this day with us, to allow us to share this day with you.

It is now my privilege to introduce to you our secretary of defense, the Honorary Ashton Carter.

ASHTON CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: General Selva, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, to the families, to the families of those who lost their lives here at the Pentagon, let me begin by offering on behalf of the Department of Defense my deepest condolences for the loss you suffered and the burden you continue to carry. We cannot fully appreciate how much your lives changed or how much you lost on this morning 14 years ago. We cannot understand how it is felt on every day since to long for their laugh, to see their smile, or to feel their embrace. We simply cannot comprehend the weight of their absence.

But for me and for so many others at the Pentagon, the weight of their memory and our duty to honor it is something we do carry with us every day. For all of us, their memory serves as an ever present reminder to cherish each day with those who love us, to stay vigilant against those who would harm us and to remain guided by the values that have always made us great.

At times we depend upon something other than what we hold in our head and hearts to remember. Maybe it's a poem taped to your mirror. Maybe it's coming to this ceremony every year. For me, it's a piece of the Pentagon that sits on my desk, collected from the rubble and passed down by each of my predecessors who have served since that horrific day. Beneath this piece of Indiana limestone reads a simple encryption. It reads, "to honor the 184 people whose lives were lost, their families and all those who sacrificed that we may live in freedom. We will never forget."

[09:40:44] We will never forget, though try as we may, we can never fully know how you feel, how you feel on this day. But we do know, we fully know, what the lives of your loved ones mean to this community and to this nation. And I hope you know that by returning here to the Pentagon each year, you set an example of strength and resilience for all of us.

Terrorists who hope to intimidate us will find no satisfaction and no success in threatening the United States. Because not only do we come back, but by living in honor of those we have lost, we come back stronger than ever before. And after 14 years and forever more, terrorists who threaten us will learn this simple, yet unbending truth. No matter how long it takes, no matter where they may hide, they will not escape the long arm of justice.

The threat from terrorism may evolve, but our determination to hold these killers accountable remains constant. As Americans, we have the will to see that justice is done. As a military, we have the capability to see that justice is done. And because of our men and women in uniform, because we can rely on the finest fighting force the world has ever known, we know that justice will be done.

When terrorists attacked the Pentagon, they tore a hole in this building. They tore at places in your hearts that may never heal completely. But as you know better than anyone, they did not and could not take from us what defines us. As Americans, we are defined by our resilience, by our readiness to stand up for our values and our willingness to honor the past even as we always begin anew.

With your example, you have embodied those ideals. You have shown us how to persevere, how to move forward, how to memorialize those we have lost in what we make of our lives. So today and all days, we honor and remember your loved ones because of the example you have set for each of us, for our American family, you have our deepest admiration and appreciation. Within this community, we will never forget. We will always remember. We will continue to honor the memory of those you have lost with the work we accomplish together.

COSTELLO: All right, Defense Secretary Ash Carter saying some wonderful words honoring those who were lost at the Pentagon on 9/11 in 2001. The president just tweeted out too - this is from President Obama. He says, "14 years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, we honor those we lost. We salute all who serve to keep us safe. We stand as strong as ever." The president and the first lady observing a public moment of silence at 8:46 Eastern Time. Of course, that's the time the first plane struck the north tower of the World Trade Center.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:48:49] COSTELLO: Are you ready for some football? I know I am. Tom Brady not letting a little thing like Deflategate bring him down last night. The New England Patriots taking down the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL season opener. Brady throwing for four touchdowns.

But is a new scandal about to rock the Patriots? CNN's Rachel Nichols joins us now with the latest soap opera surrounding New England.

NICHOLS: Well, I will say from the start it was a party celebration here at Foxborough last night, Carol. I mean, this was supposed to be a party the whole time celebrating their Super Bowl victory and they did unveil the banner and bring out the big flags and the fireworks and everything.

But you also very strongly got the feeling this was a victory party for Tom Brady's suspension getting revoked. He was center stage. In fact, the lawyer, Carol, who got him off, who got that suspension revoked in federal court, he was here last night. Not only did the crowd recognize him - it shows you what a central figure he's become in New England -- but the crowd started chanting his name, Jeffrey Kessler, Jeffrey Kessler, over and over again. That gives you a hint of the mood here.

[09:50:02] And as you mentioned, Tom Brady had a great night on the field. Take a listen to what he had to say after the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, QUARTERBACK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: It was a pretty special night, so I was excited. Our whole team was excited. You know, we haven't had one of these games in a long time, so it's always fun being out there and getting the opportunity to go play and we took advantage of it. It was a good win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Tom Brady, of course, here. Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, as we've discussed earlier this week, not here. This is the first season opener that he's skipped in his near decade as commissioner, and the crowd maybe giving him a friendly reminder on his TV, Carol, as the game was nearing its end. They started to chant at that point saying, "Where is Roger?" So I don't know if he was at home watching it, but they were looking out for him.

COSTELLO: Somehow I doubt he was at home watching it, Rachel. I don't know. So tell us about this controversy over the headsets.

NICHOLS: Yeah, this has become a mushrooming story. After the game, the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach, Mike Tomlin, talked about the fact that the coaches could not hear in their headsets for much of the first half. Coaches have something called coach-to-coach headsets. They go between the coaches on the sideline, they also go to the coaches up in the box at the top of the stadium, and Mike Tomlin said that the Patriots' radio broadcast was bleeding into their headsets so loud they couldn't hear or talk to each other.

Now, I want to read you a statement from the NFL where they talked about this issue. This is what they had to say after the game. The NFL said, "The Pittsburgh coaches experienced interference in their headsets caused by a stadium power infrastructure issue" -- that's what they blamed it on - "which was exacerbated by inclement weather." The NFL goes on to say, "Once the power issue was addressed, the equipment functioned properly with no additional issues."

Now, Carol, we have to give you a couple points here. First of all, the NFL controls the headsets. This is NFL equipment, not Patriots equipment. Although, of course, you can't control a radio frequency. If someone wants to go ahead and jam it -- and I'm not saying the Patriots did -- but if somebody did, a fan, somebody from the outside, anybody, they could. The NFL can't control a radio frequency.

Also important to note that Bill Belichick said after the game that his side also experienced some trouble with their headsets. He pointed to some communication issues they had between the sideline and Tom Brady.

But here is the smoking gun this morning from the Pittsburgh Steelers. On the Steelers' website, their official website, a writer writes that the NFL Equity Rule, which means you have to shut down one team's headsets if the other team's weren't working. Every time the NFL went over to the Patriots' sideline to shut down their headsets - because the Steelers' weren't working -- according to the Steelers' website, all of the interference miraculously lifted, so that nobody's headsets had to be shut down.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Interesting. You know --

NICHOLS: And then as soon as the NFL walked away, according to the Steelers' website, again -- this is where we're getting it from -- they say that the interference came back. So this could mushroom into a bigger deal. We'll have to wait and see.

COSTELLO: I know, because as you were explaining, you know, why there was interference according to the New England Patriots, my executive producer Michelle, who is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan said, yes, whatever. So this issue is not going to die anytime soon.

NICHOLS: I think there are definitely people around the country who feel that way. (INAUDIBLE) on both sides. COSTELLO: Exactly. Rachel Nichols, thanks so much.

Coming up at the top of the hour, GOP presidential candidate Bobby Jindal will join me live. I'll ask him if he's out-trumping Trump by calling the frontrunner a mad man just days before the big debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:58:27] COSTELLO: All right. Here in New York City, families of the victims of 9/11 continue to read the names of those fallen. In just a few moments we'll pause at 9:59 Eastern time, that's the moment the south tower collapsed. As you know, the south tower was struck by United Airlines Flight 175. It took 57 minutes for that building to fall. 900 people were killed when that building tumbled to the ground. That includes emergency workers.

It's just so painful to remember even now. I'm sure you remember exactly where you were and your disbelief when you saw that building falling even though it was live on television. No one thought it would happen, but it did. Let's pause.

(BELL RINGING)

(MOMENT OF SILENCE)