Facing Ground Zero: A Dateline Special

Ralph Patterson (0:01)

I heard a loud noise, and I heard a woman scream.

Lester Holt (0:05)

9-11, as you've never seen it.

Ralph Patterson (0:08)

What was it?

Walter Matthau (0:09)

It sounded like a missile, and it was like an explosion.

John McDevitt (0:12)

Glass flew everywhere.

Lester Holt (0:17)

Seven survivors, and the moments they can never forget.

Muyiwa Onigbogi (0:21)

I had my hand out, and I caught it. It was filled with sand.

Walter Matthau (0:27)

The entire top of the building.

Trinh K. Dinh (0:28)

The thick smoke, it just engulfed me.

Ralph Patterson (0:30)

I saw a woman that somehow her clothes had been burned onto her body.

SPEAKER_7 (0:35)

Oh, my God.

Daphne Carlisle (0:37)

Oh, my God.

John McDevitt (0:38)

John, you are right to go back.

SPEAKER_7 (0:40)

I'll go back, yeah. You guys going back?

Daphne Carlisle (0:42)

Yes.

Greg Semendinger (0:44)

It was like looking into the gates of hell.

Lester Holt (0:46)

Our cameras found them on 9-11.

SPEAKER_7 (0:48)

This is a terrorist attack.

Greg Semendinger (0:50)

Jesus.

Daphne Carlisle (0:53)

In America?

Lester Holt (0:53)

Tonight, they take us back to that day.

Daphne Carlisle (0:56)

I was so confused.

Ralph Patterson (0:59)

You could see first responders walking out of the cloud. They had to know that their comrades had been caught in that.

Greg Semendinger (1:07)

Why me? Why did I survive?

Muyiwa Onigbogi (1:10)

I was haunted.

Tim Norris (1:12)

It will never leave my mind.

Lester Holt (1:14)

Facing Ground Zero.

Good evening from Ground Zero. On this, the 25th anniversary of 9-11. I'm Lester Holt. The scale of it was incomprehensible. The deadliest terrorist attack in history with nearly 3,000 people killed. And yet, for those who lived through it, the day unfolded right here as a series of harrowing moments and split-second, often self-sacrificing, decisions. Tonight, in footage we uncovered in our NBC News Archive, some never before seen and some difficult to watch, you'll meet ordinary people pulled into chaos by chance who work with others by choice in a fight for survival. It is Tuesday, the 11th day of September.

SPEAKER_12 (2:03)

Let's find out about that election day forecast.

Walter Matthau (2:06)

Actually, it's looking pretty good.

Ralph Patterson (2:07)

In 2001, I was a cameraman at WNBC.

Walter Matthau (2:10)

Mostly clear sky.

Ralph Patterson (2:16)

That day, I found myself on an assignment in lower Manhattan. It was a lot of fun. I had a polling place on a small assignment, a normal assignment, because it was voting day.

So on my way back to the car to pack up, I heard a loud noise. And I heard a woman scream. I turned to where she was looking, and I saw a hole in the North Tower. A slit.

I thought it was a helicopter that had smashed into the building. We didn't have cell phones back then. We had radios. So I called the station, and I said, you know, there's a hole in the building. And he said, shoot it.

Daphne Carlisle (3:11)

Well, 9-11, it was a great morning, to be honest with you. Muyiwa was standing in front of my desk, as always.

Muyiwa Onigbogi (3:22)

We used to banter a lot.

I remember vividly, she said, good morning, Muyiwa. And I said, wait a minute. Suddenly this morning, you say good morning, you are being nice. I said, why?

And then she said, don't start with me. You know, it's too early in the morning. I'm not going to do that with you. I'm done.

Daphne Carlisle (3:47)

And when I heard that, I was like kind of stunned. Then I felt myself sway. I'm on the 82nd floor. You don't sway on 82nd floor.

One of my coworkers came in screaming, saying, the fire, the fire, the elevator is on fire.

Ralph Patterson (4:04)

I know if I'm going to cover this thing, that the zone is likely going to be frozen by the police. And I need to get in there and get as much as I can. I put on a battery belt. I put the camera on, and I started rolling.

And as I went down rolling, I saw people in distress. I saw a woman get into a car with somebody and just bury her face in her hand. She was in tears.

I saw people consoling each other. Then I saw a guy, he was trying to explain to me...

SPEAKER_7 (4:38)

Did you see how that happened?

Ralph Patterson (4:39)

What had happened? No.

SPEAKER_7 (4:40)

I heard, you know what I heard?

Ralph Patterson (4:42)

It was very detailed. It was intense.

John McDevitt (4:45)

I heard before that happened...

Ralph Patterson (4:49)