September 11th. Im paul joncich. Christianne Klein and im Christianne Klein. Over the next hour. Youll hear stories from all walks of life here in the valley. And across the nation. About how the events of this day 15 years ago affected people in different ways. paul joncich first we want to take you live to a local memorial. At the palm northwest mortuary. 8 news now reporter nia wong is there where they have a healing field lit up this morning. nia wong across this field not for the men on the battlefield but for the innocent lives pulled into the battle of terror here on our own soil. And on this day of remembrance. If you take the time to stop and reflect here. Youll see 2996 flags carefully arranged here at the palm northwest mortuary. One planted to honor each of those innocent victims who lost acting as symbols of hope and healing for everyone who comes. Volunteers placed these flags here yesterday morning. For the healing fields inaugural service. The silent auction continues today and will benefit the firefighters of Southern Nevada burn foundation. Help ing our own local heroes. Also here is a wall of remembrance. Wi th the names of each person who died. Some directly from or with ties right here to the valley. Today at noon. A ceremony to remember 911 victims will happen here at palm northwest. The American Red Cross will also be on site hosting a blood drive. nia wong these flags will be here until the 16th. Reporting live frm field. Nia wong 8 news now. Christianne Klein nia, who put this display together . nia wong a group called the Colonial Flag Foundation. In the next half hour. We speak with the manager of palm northwest who will tell us more about them and todays ceremony. Paul and christianne. paul joncich a palo verde teacher was aboard one of the hijacked planes on 911. Her death prompted one student to take action. Christianne Klein the iteams Vanessa Murphy brings you his story. I remember like it was yesterday. Vanessa Murphy ryan terrana was a freshman at palo verde high school. ryan terrana marine basically on my way to school when the first tower got hit and we just spent the whole day watching it you know as it unfolded til the second tower fell. Vanessa Murphy later in the week he learned devastating news about Barbara Edwards, a teacher whose class he had just enrolled in. ryan she was on the plane that hit the pentagon. Vanessa Murphy he says the death of edwards led to ryan just serve my country. Vanessa Murphy . To join the military. ryan i think that was a huge driving force on me wanting to do something about it. Vanessa Murphy and that path wasnt easy. ryan everyday you kind of reflected back, you know like why you did this, i mean because everyday was a struggle. Vanessa Murphy he served as a marine in iraq and afghanistan. ryan i lost a lot of friends. Brothers. Vanessa Murphy those losses. The injuries he saw. And the on the now 28 year old las vegas native. But he says he never regrets that decision he made after 911. ryan it was a once in a lifetime experience. Vanessa MurphyVanessa Murphy. ryan i met true heroes. Vanessa Murphy 8 news now. Christianne Klein ryan says while in high school he visited the memorial in washington dc where he saw the name of teacher Barbara Edwards. paul joncich weve got a lot more to come. As 8 news now remembers. Christianne Klein we look at the k9 heroes who helped at ground zero. And hear from the handler of the helped on 911. paul joncich but first. Plenty of people are remembering where they were on this day 15 years ago. Lets hear some of those stories just disbelief and what an atrocious death just awful and all the firefighters because my dad was a fireman. So just yeah sickened and saddened by everything. It was horrendous i remember basically there was about 50 ministers going through this orientation and everything shut down and all the to watch everythign that happened on the tvs. It was incredibly surreal. At first you thought it was a hoax and then when you all of a sudden realize it was real you could hear a pin drop in the room i was in i remember listening on the radio and hearing about it the planes going into the twin towers but really not believing it. So for lunch i went over to my parents house that live close to where i work and saw it on tv. And then president obama is expected to speak there a little later. And thousands of people are already at the site of the World Trade Center in new york city. Theyll be reading the names of who died on september 11th. paul joncich everyone has a story about where they were that day. And here in las vegas. We have someone who definitely has a unique perspective. Christianne Klein jim fassel was the head coach of the new york giants back in 2001. He now lives in las vegas and sports director Chris Maathuis had a chance to sit down with him. 00 003 57 run as is. Then butt to 6 297 09 to end it. Chris Maathuis 9 11 if effected the entire country. The event effeted new york city. And it affects sports teams also. And heres the coach of the new york giants at the time jim fassel. And jim you were coaching the giants. What a tragic scene and what a tragic event and you guys lived throug that. Jim fassel former ny giants head football coach well of course it did we opened the season against the Denver Broncos for monday night football. We got home at about 6 306 45. Landed in newark new jersey . Went to the office, changed clothes, and showered up because we had to go right to work. And all of a sudden the first plane hit. I didnt even know, i was watching tape. My secretary told me that, and for the rest of the day after the second plane hit. We werent getting anything done everyone was finding that out. And everything started to break loose. Calls were coming in. Chris Maathuis you dont really think about how it affects every corner of the country with some tragic event like that, doesnt it . Jim fassel former ny giants head football coach yea it really does. You know i got some letters from fans that said, coach thank you for being in the superbowl and being able to be put on the lead game for monday night football, because had we not i stayed up all night to watch that game, and otherwise i wouldve bee and i decided not to go in till later that morning. Chris Maathuis wow tell me about the story where you guys were on the bus and you guys saw. All the cars that were parked there with all the cars taht had dust on them. Jim fassel former ny giants head football coach giant stadium is a parking area where people had to ride the bus from over there to manhattan. Ok. And i always saw the cars in the morning because i got in early, but at night it was empty. In the morning there. And when i left that night at 11 oclock that parking lot was full, and ive never seen a car that left. That happend for about two to three days and i just knew that the people who parked their car there just perished over in new york that day. Chris Maathuis you mentioned all the letters youve gotten and those First Responders and the firemen. Youve guys honored them. I mean sports is a release from something so honor the firemen and recognize them at games. Jim fassel former ny giants head football coach i think that was one of the best things that came out of it for me. I have a foundation thats given over a Million Dollars to First Responders, firemen, and police. But there was a guy named john polombo and he had nine children under the age of eleven and he perished. And i met that group from the firehouse. And i had a van that would bring them over for saturdays practice. They got to meet all the players and throw all the footballs around. And i had seats for them in the stadium. Mrs. Polombo went on to tell me, jim this made our kids lives. They lost their father, theyre reallly depressed. However with us coming over to a part of the gian family has made it really easy to help. Chris Maathuis how did it affect the players . Obiviously you think about the families and the lives that were but, what were the attitudes of the players . Jim fassel former ny giants head football coach i told the coaches taht i dont want any yelling or screaming at practice. If a guy makes a mistake lets just be calm. Because everybody has this on their mind and we dont need to add to that. But the players handled it pretty well. They went over about a week later and toured around there and i went over there. Mayor Rudy Giulianis office called me and asked me if so i was over there when they were trying to find people alive. And ive been innew york for a long time and you dont get any sun there. Its all shaded with buildings. It was the biggest hole in the sky ive ever seen in my life. With all the buildings around and it was an incredible sight. Chris Maathuis its something that will always be seared in your mind. Jim fassel former ny giants head football coach you know ill tell you this. I have an office in my home and strah see it. The Fire Department made four out of some of the remnants of 9 11 and they gave one to president bush, governor pataky, mayor guiliani, and me. And its my most cherished trophy of all time. And when i left the giants i left it with them because its on the entrance to Giants Stadium and the Fire Department found out about it and they gave one more back to me. Chris Maathuis wow very good thanks tedd. At about this time 15 years ago. American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the this time 15 years ago. American Airlines Flight 11 american Airlines Flight 11 ago. Several artists who worked from 9 11, studios near ground zero used their paintbrushes to record the tragedy and its aftermath. Christianne Klein now, those artists are showing their work for the first time. Kenneth craig reports from new york. Todd i came up here shortly after the first attack Kenneth Craig cbs news this is where artist todd stone watched the twin towers collapse on the roof of his studio just blocks from ground zero. todd stone artist my wife who was with me on the roof said your job is to witness, youre an artist, your job is to paint. Kenneth did you struggle with that at Kenneth Craig cbs news he photographed, sketched and painted the days events. The water color paintings eventually became a series he calls witness. Dust from the towers blanketed his studio. He rubbed the debris into his art. todd stone artist it allowed me to have a physical connection to the loss that was suffered here by rubbing my hands into the ash and incorporating it into the paintings. A little further uptown, artist ejay weiss also witnessed the attacks and channeled his pain ejay weiss artist the images that were registered in my mind and my eye. You couldnt get them out. The brilliance of the day, the blue sky and the intense smoke and flame. Kenneth craig cbs news now for the 15th anniversary, weiss, stone and a dozen other new york city artists all who share a unique perspective are showing their work at the National September 11 memorial and museum. Both artists say painting was the only thing that helped them move forward. But stone has only painted 9 11 related work since the attacks. Say at one point, you never make art to feel good. Todd yeah you try to do it to avoid feeling bad. And that was it for me Kenneth Craig cbs news stone now paints from his studio on the 67th floor of one of the new World Trade Center buildings bearing witness to the destruction of lower manhattan, and its rebirth. Kenneth craig, cbs news, new york. Christianne Klein every year on this day. Share their stories about where they were when they first heard about the terror attacks on the east coast. We in the media are no different. Paul do you remember where you were . paul joncich we also caught up with some of our coworkers here at channel eight to hear their stories i still remember it very vividly, its hard to believe that 15 years has gone by. I still remember the followup stories, going to local schools, talking about how theyre going to reteach that part of American History, how the twin towers were no longer a part of the american landscape. I know there had been the attack on it years before in the 90s but nothing on such a vunerable. one of my High School Friends rebecca worked in one of the trade center towers. And i remember living in l. A. On the west coast and there was an active search for her among our group of friends. Everyone was texting, emailing, calling each other trying to locate her, we couldnt find her. It turns out she was across the street when the first plane hit so she was o. K. , physically, but we didnt know she was o. Afternoon, Pacific Coast time so there was this kind of horriffic thing where you saw how many people were being impacted but there was the personal level of a good friend from high school not being able to be found. after that second plane hit it was right after 9 oclock east coast time, 6 am our time, the sun wasnt quite up yet. So, after a while of just watching and watching i remember walking looks to the east to the sunrise. And by that time it was probably about 6 30, or a little after, and the sun was just coming up, and i thought, i just stopped, and i heard the birds singing and it was a beautiful sunrise here in las vegas. I just tried to imagine the choas on the other side of the country. after that day we knew about the fatalities of hundreds of firefighters and law task was now to go talk to local Law Enforcement and firefighters to get a reaction. It was like a zombie, evereyone was still in shock, no one knew what to say, they lost hundreds of their brothers and they had no clue what to say. the most haunting image and the image i will always think about when i think about 9 11, were the people who jumped out of the buildings. Way to get out, the smoke ws filling the stairwells, there was no escape. In some cases it was a pair of people, two people who knew each other, jumping out of the towers, sixty, seventy, eighty stories high. i was at my daughters grade school helping out with some computer problems in the classroom and i kept noticing that the teachers we and more t. V. Screens were turned on in the different classrooms. Pretty soon everybody in the whole school, the students, the teachers, evereyone was watching and saw the towers fall. I it reminded me a lot of when i was in sixth grade and John F Kennedy was shot and everything just came to a halt. Christianne Klein others around las vegas are also looking back on 9 11. Including metro police. We recently sat down with undersheriff Kevin Mcmahill. Who talked about the impact that undersheriff Kevin Mcmahill lvmpd as a Law Enforcement officer you knew that what it is that you do on a daily basis is going to have to change, because lets be realistic, the fight against terrorism wasnt really well defined at that point. What local Law Enforcement at that time really believed was that it was a responsibility of every other Agency Within the United States government. It was somewhere else, it had never hit the shores of america obviously, other than. I always look at peral harbor as a terrorism attack as well. And so enforcement community. Nor did we have a formal role within terror Operations Prior to 9 11. paul joncich several things have changed since 9 11. Including right here in the valley for metro police as you just heard a bit from the undersheriff. Christianne Klein from active Shooter Training to its Counter Terrorism fusion center. Sharie johnson shows us how a significant change comes from a Department Many people may overlook sasha larkin, metro office of Community Engagement the community is the one thats out there everyday running their businesses, driving their kids to school, out at the casinos, the nightclubs, their the ones that are actually gonna see things and recognize it Sharie Johnson lt. Sasha larkin heads metros office of Community Engagement, overseeing about 30 programs. Like first touch education. A refugee outreach. lt. Sasha larkin, metro office of Community Engagement we go to Catholic Charities 2 or 3 times a week and the East African Community center and we spend time educating refugees who have just come to our country about what to expect living in America Larkin says las vegas is a large receiver of refugees from all over the world, including 40,000 ethiopian refugees. Another Impactful Initiative core or Community Outreach redirection education. lt. Sasha larkin, metro office of Community Engagement this is part of our religious outreach, this is majid as sabour butt to we come to all of their events and holidays and even come to prayer on fridays here and theyve really given us a solid understanding of the Muslim Community here in las vegas seen, but felt. lt. Sasha larkin, metro office of Community Engagement they are definitely less fearful, they are engaging with us and im so proud to say that they call and report suspicious activity paul joncich metro also partners with hope for prisoners, to keep incarcerated people from reoffending. Its kept roughly 80 of people from returning to a life of crime. paul joncich later this morning youll have a chance to honor those who lost their lives. By giving blood. Supporting 911 day. By hosting blood drives across the country. The day was launched in 2002 as an annual day of service to honor the victims and the heroes of 9 11. From ten this morning until three this afternoon. You can head to palm northwest mortuary near jones and the 215 to help out. paul joncich up next. We take you to a local memorial being held a little later this morning at a fire station. And the piece of 9 11 history on display for the public to see. Christianne Klein but first lets listen as glued to the tv set. You saw one plane hit and then you saw another one hit and then it was one of those deals where it was like. How many are there . Is the whole country goinng to get attacked 19 it hasnt been that way thank goodness. Thanks to brave people first time in 60 years i ever saw anybody attack the United States 58. Thats the main thing. We thought we were invincible paul joncich listen in to a ceremony. As they mark the time the second plane crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center. paul joncich we want to check back in with a local memorial. Christianne Klein thats where 8 news now reporter nia wong is. Where theyve turned it into a healing field. nia . nia wong paul and christianne. 2,996 flags stand tall behind me. One to honor each of the lives lost today 15 years ago. Kelly browder palm northwest general manager this is the inaugural display here at palm northwest mortuary. General manager Kelly Browder is here to tell us more. Who created the healing field . Tell us who the the Colonial Flag Foundation is . What will be done with the flags after . There is a silent auction at the healing field, what are some of the items and where will that money go . Tell us about the wall of remembrance that palm northwest constructed . There is a Remembrance Service this afternoon. Give informaiton on it. nia wong the flags will remain here field. Nia wong 8 news now. Christianne Klein this morning were taking a closer at that day and how its affected so many of us. paul joncich the iteams Vanessa Murphy who grew up in new york talked with her grandfather who helped the injured that day. dr. James mazzara grandfather the last tragedy that i can remember by history in my lifetime was pearl harbor. And this was obviously much, it was bad or worse than that if you could imagine that but it was, Vanessa Murphy this is my grandfather doctor James Mazzara remembering 911. dr. James mazzara grandfather it was quite horrible. To imagine that Something Like that might happen. Vanessa Murphy in 2001 he was chief of clinical cardiology at saint vincents hospital in manhattan and that morning he was working at a small confn residents until they were notified a plane had hit one of the twin towers. mazzara first consideration was that it was a terrible accident. And most of us left the conference immediately cause one of the windows on the floor that we were on you could actually see the first tower billowing with smoke. Vanessa Murphy but when the second plane hit they knew it more than an accident. Course of the day it was even more shocking. Vanessa Murphy a disaster plan was put into place inside the hospital. My grandfather describes waiting in the emergency room for casualties. mazzara the impression that we had at the time with such a catastrophe that there was so few patients coming in that there were many, many lives lost. Vanessa Murphy he remembers 30 to 40 coming into his section of the er. Some with trouble breathing. mazzara they were all of them shaken up. mazzara they were in shock, emotionally in shock and didnt understand what was happening. mazzara we just tried to comfort them. Vanessa Murphy my grandfather slept in his office for a little while that night. Waiting for more patients who never came. Photos and messages like this covered parts of buildings like saint vincents as loved ones hoped to find the missing. mazzara we had a wall of remembrance. Vanessa Murphy and that wall of remembrance. choked up Vanessa Murphy for my grandfather a painful reminder of the nearly three 911 attacks. mazzara it was very sad vanessa. Vanessa Murphy he was also reminded like so many new yorkers. By the skyline without the twin towers which had photographed for years. When he went to visit ground zero shortly after. The words his heard then still strike a chord today. mazzara they said this is this is hallowed ground. Crying. Vanessa Murphy, 8 news now. Doctor mazzara got emotional several times during the interview. But he wanted to continue doing the interview. paul joncich and this just shows how 911 has deeply affected so many even 15 years later. Especially people who were in the area. Christianne Klein so many Fire Fighters lost their lives that day through their own heroism. We want here in las vegas. Fire and rescue Public Information officer tim szymanski. paul joncich hes live this morning at fire station five. Tim how is the Fire Department commemorating the 15th Christianne Klein still to come. Teaching one of the darkest days in American History. To students who werent even able to walk during 9 11. How one local teacher is using her schools history. As the 15th anniversary of 9 11 nears. paul joncich we recently took a trip to the las vegas strip. To hear from locals and visitors 9 11 as a minister we saw in the weeks that followed our church was standing room only every Single Service for weeks because people were confused they were desperate. The first time Something Like this happened close to home and so they just didnt know what life was going to look like in the future anniversary of 9 11. One of those of course is at ground zero. Christianne Klein in the past 15 years. The World Trade Center site has been transformed from a long term construction site. Into a permanent memorial for visitors. And thats where we find brook silva braga. Good morning brook. Crucial role in the days after the deadly terror attacks. And earlier this year. We lost the last surviving k9 officer that responded to ground zero. paul joncich the World Trade Center is where career began. But as kevin reece reports. Thats not the only tragedy shes helped out during in her long career. She arrived to a heros welcome. Her fellow officers and firefighters offering a salute. As she ambled under her own veterinarian whos cared for her the last 16 years. Bretagne, pronounced brittany, is the golden retriever who became the last surviving searchand rescue dog from 9 11. But monday, two months shy of kidney failure prompted her handler, denise corliss, to make the difficult choice to have her humanely euthanized. But the emotional event would not happen quietly. Two dozen coworkers from department, including other Law Enforcement personnel, formed a traditional wall of honor, saluting the canine as she entered fairfield Animal Hospital in cypress. They were there to salute her again 30minutes later as she was carried from the Veterinary Clinic draped in the texas flag. Its a hard day for the entire Fire Department, said David Padovan with cyfair vfd. And this is just a small way for us to honor her on her way out. In addition to being the last surviving searchand rescue dog from 9 11, bretagne also searched for survivors after hurricanes katrina and rita. And in retirement, she became a cyfair celebrity, a mascot who well be right back after even born when the twin towers were attacked. Others face the difficult task of understanding an event that happened in their lifetime when they were just too young to remember. Christianne Klein we were in the classroom with some of those teens from a local high school with a tragic connection. To see how they learned about most recorded days in American HistoryChristianne Klein at palo verde high school. These International Baccalaureate students are learning about 911. Sharing their own family recollections. she said it was crazy she just saw all the panic in the streets. And there was so much noise once those planes hit and then for the rest weeks and months afterwards the country was shut down. after this happened he thought anything could happen anytime. Even a terrorist attack Christianne Klein most of these teenagers were just one year old at the time of the attacks. lisa dover teacher its hard because they remember what everyone else has told them to remember. So im trying to create experiences that are more authentic for them Christianne Klein lisa dover has a unique task. Teaching her students about 911 and its aftermath through photos, videos, and oral history. Balanced with palo verdes own tragic connection. killed when american Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the pentagon. lisa dover teacher its not just reminding people that she taught here. Its reminding people who she was maddie gardescki i think sometimes when we talk about 911 we focus on the number of people that were lost when we should be focusing on the people themselves Christianne Klein each of these students like all of us live in a post 911 world. But their collective consciousness is powerfully shaped by the memories of those close to them. And what they continue to see around them. its kind of weird because ive never really felt that safety or security in a public space and ive been brought up to know how to leave if somethings bad happening maddie gardescki student we see the impact of 9 11 on a daily basis through the media when we go to the airport. Every day theres something new about terrorists and terrorist attacks and peoples lives being lost Alejandro Camacho student we have to know our history. The good and the bad. Christianne Klein a complicated lesson that 15 years later. Still doesnt have its ending. lisa dover teacher our actions. Our political actions, the decisions weve made and we dont know where this event is really going to take us in history paul joncich heres a look at the area of the 9 11 memorial in new york city. Where palo verde teacher Barbara Edwards name is engraved. Shes one of the nearly 3 thousand names engraved in bronze surrounding the twin pools that form the base of where the twin towers once stood. paul joncich thanks for watching this special edition of 8 news now. Christianne Klein live look at the ceremony underway in new york city. Christianne Klein captioning made possible by johnson johnson, where quality products for the American Family have been a tradition for generations osgood good morning. Im Charles Osgood and this is sunday morning. A sunday morning in which we examine two very different chapters open our history. Today marks the 15th anniversary of the 9 11 attacks on this country of which more happy moment. And we are just days aways from the dedication of a new museum