On the morning of September 11, 2001, as President George W. Bush was reading a children’s story to a group of students at Emma E. Brooker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida. As he was reading the story, Chief of Staff Andrew Card informed him that the World Trade Center had been struck by two airplanes. The President cut short his visit with the children and retired to a room in the back of the school with his staff.
This picture shows the President preparing to address the nation as Press Secretary Ari Fleischer looks on:
Later, aboard Air Force One, Bush continued to watch coverage of the attack:
The President talks on the telephone at the General Dougherty Conference Center at Barksdale Air Force Base:
The President with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card at Barksdale Air Force Base. Before he departed from the base that afternoon, the president held a press conference at which he said, “Make no mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts.”
The President is consoled by Lt. Col. Cindy Wright of the White House Military Office aboard Air Force One:
The President is shown with his wife, First Lady Laura Bush, Vice President Cheney, and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice:
At 8:30 p.m. on the evening of September 11, the president addressed the nation from the Oval Office. In his speech, Bush set the tone for the wars to come in both Afghanistan and Iraq:
All of these photos, and many others, can be seen on upcoming episodes of the PBS documentary series “Frontline.”
h/t PBS.org
Featured Image Via Eric Draper Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
