Bush's 9/11 Classroom Witnesses Recall His Reaction 25 Years Later
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Sep 10
Bush's 9/11 Classroom Witnesses Recall His Reaction 25 Years Later
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Sep 10
Summary
Former Emma E. Booker Elementary students said they saw President George W. Bush's face change on Sept. 11, 2001, after chief of staff Andrew Card whispered that a second plane had hit the World Trade Center.
Krystal Davis, then a second grader in Bush's reading event, recalled confusion as he resumed smiling to avoid alarming children before being escorted out; only later did students watch the Twin Towers collapse on television.
Stevenson Tose'-Rigell, 10 at the time, said children waiting hours for Bush's education speech instead heard him announce an apparent terrorist attack, realizing the day had veered sharply from plan.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed that day, and the Sarasota school marked the 25th anniversary in May with a World Trade Center steel beam as former students described the attacks' lasting impact on their lives and public service ambitions.