Retired FBI agent Tom Bush recently sat down with Chief Investigator Rick Earle to talk about the 9-11 attacks and the impact that day 25 years ago had on the FBI.
Bush was working as a section chief at the Criminal Justice Information Center in Clarksburg, W.Va., just about a two-hour drive south of Pittsburgh.
“This is a whole different ball game. This is something, a whole different level of evil and terror that we’ve never seen before,” said Bush, who also worked a number of other high-profile crimes, including the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta.
‘Could we be a target?’
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Bush was in his office at the Criminal Justice Information Services division, known as CJIS, when a staff member hurriedly came in.
“She said, ‘Mr. Bush, you might want to turn on your TV. ‘So, I turned it on, and we were all sitting there, and I said, ‘What’s going on?’ and she said, ‘Well, a plane hit one of the buildings in New York City,’” Bush recalled.
Then, while they were watching, a second plane hit the World Trade Center.
Bush knew it wasn’t an accident, and some of the nearly 3,000, mostly civilian employees at CJIS — home to the criminal database known as NCIC and the largest fingerprint collection in the world — expressed concern that a plane could be headed their way.
The main building at CJIS is the size of a football field.
“The panic of, well, could we be a target, and I’m like no, no we can’t be a target, but I have to say thinking back that I know I walked away saying to myself could we be a target,” said Bush.
A new bureau
Bush says that September morning, 25 years ago, forever changed the FBI.
The focus shifted from white-collar crime, drugs and bank robberies to terrorism.
“Counter terrorism immediately became No. 1, so that rearranged our priorities literally from that day forward,” Bush said.
And CJIS employees played a critical role in identifying 9/11 victims.
“Immediately, we were sending non-FBI personnel to the bombing sites and to Dover Air Force Base to help identify people who had died,” Bush said.
They also helped track down the terrorists overseas.
“We ultimately had people go to Afghanistan, and we were collecting fingerprints there,” Bush said.
Preserving the memory
Since 9/11, more than 30 FBI employees who responded that day have passed away from 9/11-related illnesses.
To honor them and those who lost their lives that day 25 years ago, Bush wears a special pin with the FBI logo, an American flag and the date: 9-11-2001.
“You go into the site, you go into the danger, and they paid for it, the ultimate sacrifice,” Bush said.
Bush retired in 2009 as the assistant director of CJIS.
He’s still active as a consultant, and he’s proud of the work the FBI did in the days after 9/11, and the work, he says, they continue to do to keep the country safe.
Chief Investigative Reporter Earle asked Bush if he believes the FBI has done a good job preventing terrorist attacks since 9/11.
“Yes, I think the proof is in the results and what we’ve seen or not seen,” Bush replied.
As for his memories of that day 25 years later:
“You’d like to say never forget and never again,” said Bush.
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