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Updated on: September 6, 2026 / 10:47 AM EDT
/ CBS News
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There's a fine line between "never forgetting" 9/11, and "always reminding." Too much is distasteful, too little is disrespectful. You might think after all this time, there's no bell left un-rung, no prayer unsaid, no song that hasn't been sung. After 25 years, the most fitting way we can think of to keep the day close is talking to those who were there. Ground Zero "You could see flames shooting out of, you know, all sides of the North Tower," said Harry Handler, who was on the 67th floor of the other tower, 2 World Trade Center. "The building made an announcement that said, 'There's been an incident in 1 World Trade Center. If you're in 2 World Trade Center, return to your desks.' I thought, this is just a bad idea." Seventeen minutes later, a second plane hit his tower. He began leaping down flights of stairs, 12 steps at a time. And then he stopped. "I ran into a woman who was leaning against the bannister having an asthma attack," Handler said. "I said, 'Well, let me take you down.' She took my arm. Even though she was breathing heavily, we went very slowly down the stairs."They had no idea that a third plane had hit the Pentagon. The Pentagon"Things were not where you'd expect them to be," said Marine Major Dan Pantaleo, who rushed in to help, though no one had asked him to. "There was a part of a desk that was sort of in the ceiling. There was what looked like a safe that was turned sideways and embedded into the wall."
