just moments ago president obama landed at andrews air force base just outside the nation's capitol. he and the first lady are heading to the pentagon or will be heading to the pentagon where they will lay a wreath at the memorial for the men and women who died on 9/11. after that he'll meet with family members and some survivors. the president began his day at ground zero in new york city. he toured the site with the first lady and former president george w. bush and laura bush. during the ceremony president obama read from scriptures. >> the kingdoms were moved. he uttered his voice.

the earth melted. a word of hosts is with us. god of jacob is upon us. >> after leaving new york mr. obama and the first lady visited the newly dedicated memorial to the passengers and crew who fought back against the hie jackers aboard flight 93. the president will end his day at a concert of hope. a special event tonight at the kennedy center where he will deliver remarks. hello. i'm chris jansing. this is the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. thank you for joining us. i'm here in new york in the studio. joined in our coverage is alex witt at ground zero. hello once again, alex. >> hello once again to you, chris. one of the things in all of our minds are the thoughts of the brave heros, the firefighters who went in to do their duty and rescue those under attack.

i am joined by a man who is truly one of the heros. we'll talk with a former and retired lieutenant of his experience. he has a heroing tale to tell. >> president obama shoilduld arrive at the pentagon in the next half hour. he will lay the wreath at the entrance of the memorial there. he'll meet with family of the victims. we're waiting to see him emerge along with the first lady from air force one. ceremonies in the pentagon began this morning. the moment when flight 77 hit the site of the pentagon ten years ago. killing 184 people. we can see the president coming off of air force one emerging with the first lady. what is a very somber day, but a time for him to really spend time with members of various families including the members of the pentagon coming up just a short while from now.

let's go to nbc news chief b pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski who is live at the pentagon as he was on 9/11. what are we expecting at the pentagon? >> it's going to be a private affair. the president will lay a wreath on the sidewalk next to the pentagon. approximate ly approximately where american flight 77 sliced into the building killing 125 people inside the pentagon. and then he will have a private meeting with the family members and friends of those killed at the pentagon and those aboard flight 77 there will also be a gathering inside the pentagon and at the memorial at the chapel but again, that's all going to be kept pretty private. the ceremony here was solemn. i wouldn't say somber. but fairly subdued in comparison with the ceremonyies today at ground zero.

primarily because the memorial here to those victims that were killed on 9/11 both in the pentagon and aboard the passenger plane that slammed into the building. that memorial was dedicated some years ago. so you didn't have that kind of impact. nevertheless, this is a huge moment. a lot of people sharing their stories, their recollections. and for a place like the pentagon and the military it was pretty much a buttoned up ceremony. >> can we talk about the memorial for a second? it is remarkable. there are 184 benches. one for each person killed. there are little pools beneath it. you can hear the water bubbling. every day at 9:37 a.m. for one minute they stop. >> that's right. at precisely that minute.

9:37 a.m. when american flight 77 crashed into the building they turn off the fountains beneath each of the benches that are really small reflecking pools. it's quite an impressive memorial. it's a very modern design. the benches themselves almost look like chevrons of sort. those were killed in the pentagon. their benches face toward the pentagon. those killed in the plane, those benches face outward toward the flight path of the plane itself. at the end of each of the benches is an engraving of the names of those killed here today. >> a memorial that ea tracted half a million people every year. we will go live back to the pentagon when the president and first lady arrive. let's go back to ground zero and alex. >> chris, nanks so much. i'm here at the world center hotel.

we are talking with survivors of the 9/11 attacks. they are all sharing their stories as we look back on the events that changed america forever. i'm joined live by a special survivor. that's mickey cross. a retired lieutenant in the fire department of new york city. with a good day to you. your story is one of heroism. tell us what happened. >> well, i was come ging out of the building. when i was held up. then i got down to about three, and i heard the rumblings. >> what was that like? what did that sound like? >> loud. very loud. it sounded like a locomotive coming at you. >> did you have any idea what that was? what was happening? >> i had an idea.

i wasn't sure. i thought the building might be coming down. but i wasn't 100% sure. and then the winds started. the building was pancaking down over 100 miles per hour. so it's pushing the air in front of it. so the wind in the stairwell was like a hurricane. i crumbled up in the corner. >> you remember all this so vividly. >> i remember certain things vividly. other things i have no mearm of whatsoever. i was told by a they are pift i have partial amnesia and mild post-traumatic stress disorder. >> we can certainly understand why you would have that. despite all that you went back and worked at ground zero over the next nine months. what brought you back? >> i don't know. i felt the need to be there. i felt more comfortable there than when i was doing anything else. it's strange. >> why do you think that is?

>> i don't know. i guess you need a psychiatrist to answer that one, right sf. >> yeah. do you think maybe it brought you to an atemtempt to try to save something or resolve what happened to you or pay tribute to the friends that were lost? your colleagues in the ny fire department? >> well, a lot of people were lost. we were searching for people. i wasn't searching specifically for firefighters. although it was special when i found a firefighter to me, you know. >> and you did that? >>. yes, i found firefighter george cain who i worked with in my fire house. my fire house lost nine people. my other company didn't lose anybody. i found one of them. so it's special to me. >> did she talk with you today? >> i haven't seen her today. she was here. and i was at my fire house.

so i usually see her at some poib during the day. special lady. >> i bet. and i bet there's something special about the bond that you two will always have. >> it's true. it's true. me and her -- and every new year's eve we get together. we do a tour and then we go out to lunch. we do a tribute what's called the tribute center down here. we do that every year. >> does it get easier? >> no. but i'm used to doing it. i live in the neighborhood. so it's like i see this every day. a lot of people can't come here. i'm here every day. >> mickey kross, i'm a good man. >> i'm all right. >> you're all right. that's for sure. you retired five years ago from

the new york fire department. we're glad you're here to tell your story. >> i'm alex witt. now back to chris in the studio. >> remarkable story. thank you, alex. we continue to wait for the president to arrive at the the pentagon. we'll have that for you live when it happens. also coming up how have the last ten years changed the way muslims live in america? we'll talk to a muslim writer and activist who says she feels safe in new york. you're watching msnbc special coverage, 9/11, america remembers. [ male announcer ] what if we told you that cadillac borrowed technology from ferrari to develop its suspension system? or what if we told you that ferrari borrowed

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back now with live pictures for the pentagon where the president will arrive a very short time from now. president obama spoke earlier about the part of arlington national cemetery known as section 60. he was there with the first lady. there was some very poignant images there on friday. the section reserved for the men and women who served in iraq and afghanistan. i'm joined by nbc news chief pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski, nbc's mike viqueira, who is at the white house for us and retired army four star general barry mc mccaffery. general, let me start with you. we have spoken so much about the terrible loss that we suffered.

nearly 3,000 people. 184 at the pentagon alone. but i think it is also worth noting today that nows of young men and women who went to iraq and afghanistan to defend our dom, many of them who signed up dropped their lives and signed up for the military in the days and weeks following 9/11, but whom never came home. >> yeah, chris, it's a phenomenal generation. the privilege to see them in action in iraq and afghanistan and elsewhere in the intervening years. they're patriotic. they're smart. they're tough. they're volunteers. as you know, we've had 51,000 killed and wounded. in that first day, 9/11, there were almost a couple of hundred murdered in the pentagon from little children all the way up to a three-star general. so the armed forces thank god for the men and women who step forward to protect us. >> let me play a little bit of what vice president biden had to

say early this morning. he was drawing a connection to pearl harbor. >> many of them were just kids. on that bright september morning. like their grandparents, on december 7th 1941 they courageously bore the burden placed on their soldiers. as they came of age they showed up. they showed up to fight for their country, and they're still showing up. >> and i'm wondering general, if you think that is part of the legacy, that spirit. part of the legacy of september 11th. >> well, no question chris. what we tell people we're actually recruiting young men out of the top 25% of american youth. the young women come out of the top 10%. the one difference though, with pearl harbor is now you've got 1% of the american people

volunteer to go fight to defend us. world war ii, we had almost 60 million people step forward to fight tochlt some extent the country isn't engaged. it's the armed forces, the cia, the fbi, a small number of security elements. >> you know, mike, one of the comments that has been made so often over the last couple of days is how much america came together in those homes after 9/11 9/11. and not just america, but the world. i remember leon talking about making a drive after the 9/11 attacks. and all of us saw it. signs were posted. the remarkable spirit of unity and how far we have come from that particularly in the political discourse. you can't help but wonder if all these remembrances this day if

all that we've heard and rewatching what happened on 9/11 over the past 24 48 hours or so, might in some way have some impact. >> you know, it's almost unfortunate to say given the somber remembrances over the weekend. let's not forget the dedication yesterday in shanksville pennsylvania, for the wall that the president had visited earlier today. but it does appear to be at least as far as our political discourse is concerned, the rhetoric, the harshness of the rhetoric and the escalated animosity between the two principle parties in the country, it appears that the aftermath of 9/11 was a pause in partisan warfare. if anything over the course of the last several years it's obviously escalated. i was in the capitol that day. i was talking with chris matthews about it yesterday. in the course of the evening, of course, there was that famous scene where republicans and democrats, the speaker of the

house, denny hastert, the democratic leader and the leaders of the senate all gathered on the house steps. the capitol was evacuated. the place was deserted. they gathered. it was impromptu. i witnessed it. somebody started singing god bless america, and the rest of the congress enadare say some of us standing and observing started singing as well. it was perhaps a touch stone moment to recap the horrible day. they look at the elected representatives and they look at the fighting and the semiinglypet tyness they looked at that and it shows you institutions are greater than the sum of the parts. today is certainly a reminder of that, chris. >> mike viqueira, very eloquent eloquently said. we're going to take a quick break as we wait for the president and the first lady to arrive at the the pentagon and

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upsized. innovation for all. it should be minutes before we see the president and first lady there. while we wait for that, let me bring in john who lost his sister in the pentagon attack. she was a passenger on flight 77, which crashed into the building. thank you so much for joining us. and your sister was a passenger on 77. 35 minutes into the flight the plane was overtaken. as that was unfolding your sister did something remarkable. tell us what she did. >> well she had the frame of

mind to sit down and write a note to her husband, earl. basically she stated to earl. i love you. please take care of imani and jared for me. >> and we know that because remarkably that letter survived the crash and the fire at the pentagon. and in the wake of that discovery, you learned your sister's thoughtfulness extended beyond her final gesture. what did you learn after that? >> well. learned that she was very, very caring person worried about her family. she was just a wonderful person. >> she's now among those who are memorialized there as the pentagon. remembered not just as a devoted sister and wife, but a good friend and scientist. i'm wondering if looking back over the last ten years so many

people who were touched by the letter wharks you think her legacy has been. >> her legacy is really the people, like you mentioned, the people that she touched. we held a memorial service here in thousand oaks. and in a location that held 2500 people. there was probably 3,500 people there. afterwards just lines and lines of people came up to me and my family and told us about the great thicks she did for them. from the gardener to used to help her at the house to the people that she used to play soccer with. she was so giving. so many people had so many things to say about her. >> does it ever cease to amaze you, the impact that it's had? so many lives have been touched in such a positive way from such a horrible event?

>> no. it never really does. she had an impact son so many people from the early stages of her life. she was a scientist. she had a ph.d. and on top of that, she was always giving back to her community. >> i need to unfortunately interrupt you. we watch the president and first lady arrive. thank you so much for taking the time to be with us. let's listen as the ceremony at the pentagon continues.

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♪ ♪ so the president has laid the wreath there at the memorial. and, of course, sounds of "amazing grace" and we're expecting the president and first lady to spend some time with the families there.

let me bring in one more time john whose sister lost her life at the pentagon. i'm just wondering as you watch these ceremonies evolve and unfold over the weekend and it's been ten years, which for a lot of people they can't believe it's been ten years. what are your haugts? >> my thoughts is that there's really never any closure to this. every day because it's in the immediate yo so much. especially around now because it's such a public event. when we first found out, when we first got the bad news, we were mourning along with the entire nation, the entire world. at the same time, once the rest of the world maybe started to come to terms with it we were in severe mourning. my father fell deathly ill and passed away a few weeks later after september 11th. so we had just two huge

tragedies in the family. my mother says he died from a broken heart from learning about my sister. the fact that it's such a public event that happened makes it very difficult. may we don't want to put it behind us. maybe we want to keep remembering those who perished. that's why we probably need these memorial services. >> i can tell you still all around new york you see the stickers that say we will never forget. if you came face to face with the president wharks would you say to him? >> i would say to him, thank you. and thank you for continuing to be a strong leader. thank you for taking care of the country. the situation with bin laden. although it doesn't put -- doesn't make closure for myself. but for a lot of people it

probably does. i'm very thank youful from the decisive action he took in that situation. >> heard that from a number of families in the last few days. to you and your family, god bless and thank you for taking the time to come and speak with us today. >> you're welcome. thank you very much. >> let me bring back in our panel. mick, let me ask you about the the memorial. we were talking earlier about the 148 benches there. there's also a little piece it's concrete. it's a wall. and it starts at three inches. one inch for every year in the youngest victim of flight 77. and it goes up to 71 inches. that is to honor john a retired navy captain, who was also on that same plane. half a million people come out every year to the memorial. it's not that easy to find is

it, mick? >> it's really not. this is a military reservation that has come under attack. they started increasing the security measures here and pushing out the perimeter. the public used to stage demonstrations on the steps. they would throw blood for anti-war demonstrations. flowers. no longer can individuals, private citizens walk up to the pentagon like they used to. it does take some maneuvering by the general public to get here. that was one of the considerations or the concerns of many who put this memorial together. i can can tell you on any given night when you leave this place you see many people taking the time, making the effort, which is quite a long walk actually.

once you find it it's hard to get in. but they do make the effort to pay their respects to those who gave their life here at the pentagon. and i know there are a lot of people who speculate that the pentagon and the people here must feel like they have taken second, a backseat to the memorial services and the kind of attention that's paid to those killed at the world trade center. people recognize the difference in the size and scope of the attack. there at the world trade center. most people and including their families, the survivors are more concerned about the focus that was given here by the pentagon and the military on perursuing

those who perpetrated the attacks and ensuring as best they can that it doesn't happen again, chris. general, let me bring you back in. we were talking about this generation. the 2.8 million service members who signed up to fight the wars in afghanistan and iraq and have been deployed to is many other dangerous regions. when i look at 9/11 and a lot of people look at 9/11 i am constantly amazed at the family members who have taken this tragedy and turned it into something remarkable. they founded foundations. they have forged new bonds with different communities. thaef made very many personal relationships with people. isn't it true of the military as well think of how different the war is than we were ten years

ago. >> that's an excellent point. we went to two generations confronting the soviets and warsaw pact. the job these young servicemen and women face in iraq and afghanistan, we talk about the the strategic infantry squad. you have a staff sergeant and nine other young soj eers. they're out there with phenomenal technology. they are tremendous fighters willing to incur casualties. they're asking to be diplomats and builders of institutions. so it's a huge responsibility. and as you know a lot of these troops now are on their third fourth or more combat tours. i ran into a master sergeant on his tenth deployment. we just heard from john and i heard from alice who lost her son on 9/11. all of them bring up now the navy s.e.a.l.s and osama bin

laden. for them there is some sense that justice was done in the case. but the skill and the the ability and now just the numbers of special ops required for this new military that we have. and what's been required to be able to retrain them. >> well certainly. by the way the people who went after bin laden directly, navy s.e.a.l.s the eerm's delta. the 160th aviation. the air force special quadrants. we spent a fortune on them. they've been at it for a decade. they are remarkable. it's a parallel universe of immense value to protecting america. so it is phenomenal to see what they can do. >> and back to mike viqueira at the white house. as we continue to watch this. there are many questions now being considered about the

future in afghanistan and iraq. we're already hearing many questions raised about whether these planned deadlines for writdraw should happen. we've heard comments for military, from previous administrations from the defense department. all of that unfolding in the context of what do we do about the budget deficit? how do we get spending under control? >> the debate over the debt ceiling was so unfortunate over the course of the last two months. they were talking about how do we score the iraq war and the drawdown in afghanistan? can we use the savings to reduce the debt? it's become a sense as calculating as all of that. remember the resolution before congress that led to the war in afghanistan. most viewers are aware that it's the longest war in american

history. one individual in congress, a congresswoman from oakland voted against the resolution. at this point obviously after ten years of warfare there's a great deal of fatigue. the president has had his surge. certainly support for the war is slipping. there are some on the right now calling for a rapid deescalation drawing down in iraq. now when we talk about iraq the president has said time and time again, including on the campaign stump that all combat troops will be wraun by the end of the year from iraq. there's one stipulation, the so-called status of enforcement. how many iraqis will ask to remain in iraq and we can kwifl

about whether they will be combat troops or noncombat troops. i have a cousin in iraq who says we're combat troops. these are rhetorical and political in many aspects. that's the view of one soldier at least. so we do this debate ongoing. there's certainly fatigue among the political institutions at the ongoing war on terror. we were reminded yet another day, another meeting in the situation room. they were talking about a meeting he conducted about the current terror threat. we're all pay ware of the scare that involves a possibility. the nonconfirmed but credible evidence that as many as three individuals were sent to create mayhem on this anniversary today. obviously there's no -- nothing new to report there. to be telling you about it. you see the president chris i had one more thing i want to mention working the rope line in shanksville, pennsylvania.

no comments there either. no public comments. he'll speak later at a concert for hope they're calling it. this is not your average presidential event. the president does not spend an hour posing for countless pictures and shaking virtually every hand it appears as he did in shanksville and again here at the pentagon. this is a special day of many respects. respects. >> very moving for the family members there. their lives were change sod dra matly. they find themselveses in situations they never could have imagined. to a person they would give whatever they could if they could have their loved ones back. but it has also opened many opportunities for them to do good. and to have these extraordinary moments. you hope it gives them comfort to know their commander in chief and first lady is there thinking

about them and spending time with them and have words of encouragement for them. this is the director of the moral courage project at the wagner school of public service. she's author of ala, liberty and love. the courage to reconcile faith and freedom. thank you so much for being here. i was telling you that i was so struck by alice, one of the mothers of the victims of 9/11 earlier, who really unprovoked or i didn't bring it into the conversation. she brought into the conversation people would remember the relationship with islam. people's hearts would be open. this would not be an opportunity to bring back the negative memories. i'm wondering where you think we are with that ten years later. >> sorry to say i think we're more confused than we are clear about this relationship between muslims and non muslims. i see it among my fellow

liberals actually all the time. you know, liberal non muslims fear being called racist and islamoj nobodies for having questions about my faith of laum. on one hand there are islam supremacist who is will call us sellouts and traitors and on the other who suspect we're terrorists in waiting. there are layers of intimidation that really need to be cut through, i think over the next many years. >> obviously a lot of this bubbled up over the controversy over the mosque near ground zero. i've been surprised about the number of people who asked me what's going on with that hean the range of opinions are so great. where do you think that conversation can and should go?

can it be a positive conversation, or how do we take these questions and these controversies and turn them to understanding? >> it can only become a positive conversation, in my view if people stop reacting to the other emotionally. one thing i noticed last year around this toxic atsz fear of the so-called ground zero mosque is that people would say i'm going to support the mosque because i want to offend and make angry those idiots and other words who oppose it. and i would say to them, that's the reason to support the mosque? how about looking at the issue on its on merits. everybody seemed to be reacting to a person or to a group of people that they hated. rather than calming down, taking a deep breath looking inside themselves and judging the issue

for what it was. i see that far too often not just with muslims and non muslims but within the political culture we have today. republicans versus democrats. you know all of this. i really feel that this country needs to pull together. and americans both muslim and non muslim need to forgive one another if we're actually going to heal. enough to then take on the larger issues of global terrorism that we all face. >> i have asked the question over the the last couple of days, wouldn't it be a remarkable tribute to those who lost their lives not just at the the pentagon in shanksville and ground zero but in iraq and afghanistan, wouldn't it be remarkable if we could come together as a country once again the way we did in the days after 9/11? do you think that's possible? do you think that watching all of this over the last several

days might bring about some at least subtle change? >> i wish i could be positive about my answer. i would hope so. but i really a also anticipate that the coming election campaign will be among the nastiest political campaigns that we've seen in a very long time in this country. i really believe it's going to get worse before it gets better. as a muslim living in new york city somebody who feels very very safe around all kinds of people -- >> you said you think it's the safest place to live? >> i do. i do. i had personal experience with terrorism forces around the world. new york police department no contest knows what its doing. and moreover chris i would remind the viewers that just a couple of weeks ago the pew

research center for religion and public life found 80% cumulatively, 80% of muslim-americans surveyed believe their neighbors are friendly to them or treat them in a mutual way. those are stunningly high numbers. clearly muslim-americans also for the most part feel comfortable and even content living in the country. >> probably as high a percentage as almost any minority group might feel. you also made an interesting point before we came on the air. wer seeing the faces of them now with the first lady, they have turned it into something positive. and you see it on a large scale with the people from 9/11. i've seen it on a small scale with a family that has lost a child.

a small scale as in one individual. you say that's uniquely american. >> i believe it. i believe it's uniquely american. i'm a canadian citizen who teaches at new york university. i live here in new york. with one foot in and one foot out, i see how unbelievably optimistic this country continues to be despite the despair and having traveled the world more than once i can also tell you that nowhere else in the world is there that forward looking emotional investment in people's own country. i told you off the air that i really hope if one thing comes out of all of this it is that americans remember what we used to be before 9/11. and restore that because the precedent is there. we've been this before. we can be again. >> irshad on those great words, thank you so much for coming in today. i really appreciate it. we'll con to watch as the president and first lady again

taking their time, spending many, many minutes something quite remarkable to speak with members of the families of those who lost their lives at the pentagon. 184 men women and children, and though as the vice president biden said, no memorial, no ceremony, no words will ever fill the void left in your hearts by their loss. surely their time today there. feeling the love of a country truly if not the world. could provide some help. we'll be right back with more from ground zero from alex witt.

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at 9:37 a.m. september 11th 2001, a terrible tragedy hit at the pentagon. now the president is there ten years later, commander in chief, meeting with members of the

military, after spending many minutes talking to family members who have gathered there for what has been a day full of ceremonies. i'm chris jansen here. i'm joined by alex witt who is live at ground zero. alex, i was mentioning earlier that i was there on friday. i think especially from that high overlook where you are, it is such an extraordinary thing to see because i can remember so vividly being there the days after. and on the one-year anniversary, and looking down and still seeing a wreckage and a whole. and it does feel as though there is a metaphor there for the healing, and for the remarkable resilience of what has happened to new york and across this country. >> you put it well chris. and i've had that same sentiment here, as we look at what was formally known as ground zero, and what is now a beautiful tribute to the memory of all of those who lost their lives.

but you know chris, one thing that strikes me as i'm sure it did you when you were anchoring from here friday is the sound of these beautiful waterfalls. these are the biggest man-made waterfalls in the united states, a 30-foot drop, and then a further 30-foot drop into almost that infinity, that dark hole and all that represents. but you know, chris i look at the water. i look at it as being replenishing, life-affirming. it is calming. so many of us are soothed by the sound of water and yet it is powerful. and put all of that together, and i think it speaks volumes about where we are in this country now today and where we intend to go. and i love that in this busy din here in lower manhattan, people are going to have this sound. i know that you share this. but when people come, they will be overwhelmed by how loud it is. here we are 20 floors up, and you can hear it. and the lives of these people i

think will be emboldened by this sound. we'll never be able to forget them because of it. >> it has never stopped since 9/11 the number of people who continue to go down there even for the many years when there was not much construction going on. people are drawn to this place. all of us know where we were and what we were doing on 9/11. it is one of those memories that is seared in our consciousness forever. and some families continue to stay there alex witt my thanks to you for your fabulous coverage down there at ground zero, and for bringing us so many of the thoughts and memories of people who are there as well. but that will do it for this special live coverage of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. i'm chris jansing and for alex witt, i thank you for joining us. we will continue programing throughout this day to mark this sacred anniversary. coming up next msnbc's rachel maddow and richard engel hosting

the documentary "day of destruction, decade of war." but we leave you with some of the images of this day. ♪ ♪

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