PITTSBURGH — On one of the darkest days in American history, Channel 11 spent hours covering the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Long-time WPXI news anchors David Johnson and Peggy Finnegan reported on Sept. 11.
The duo came back to the station to talk about working to keep our area informed while the country was under attack.
“I do remember a beautiful day. Just sapphire blue sky, no clouds. I had to go to a store in Squirrel Hill on Murray Avenue. But I was with the owner, and he had the radio on. And he said, ‘I think they said a plane hit the trade center in New York.’ And I said, ‘That can’t be. That’s not right.’ And we turned up the volume. And sure enough, that’s when I went back home, and the weight of it started to hit me,” Johnson said.
“I was probably sipping my coffee, and my neighbor, Carol, called me and said, ‘Peggy, have you seen? Turn on the TV right now; have you seen what’s happening in New York?’ I turned it on; I couldn’t believe it. Like you, I saw this gaping hole, smoke and flames, and you’re just in disbelief. And then, as I was watching live, like millions of people across America, that second plane hit. And right then I knew this was not an accident. And I called the babysitter, and I started getting ready for work,” Finnegan said.
The conversation turned to the crash in Shanksville after a group of American heroes banded together to save lives.
Finnegan: Todd Beamer was amazing. And all the people on that flight. And it wasn’t just Todd Beemer. He had kind of a posse of guys who decided, we’re going to fight back. We are not going to let this happen. And they believed that plane would have headed to DC.
Johnson: And how about the phone calls they made to their loved ones on the plane?
Finnegan: Oh my gosh. Can I read one to you?
Johnson: Please.
Finnegan: I’ve listened to it a few times so that I would not cry when I read it again. Hang on. So this was a Navy pilot; his name was Brian Sweeney, and he left this calm, heartbreaking message to his wife. He said, “Jules, this is Brian. Listen, I’m on a plane that’s been hijacked. If things don’t go well and it’s not looking good, I just want you to know I absolutely love you. I want you to do good; go have good times. Same to my parents and everybody. And I just totally love you, and I’ll see you when you get there.“ It just kills me.
Johnson: It wasn’t just Beemer; he rallied the passengers. And think about what they had to do and what they did. It’s incredible. That is the highest level of bravery and heroism.
Johnson and Finnegan moved on to reflect on the heavy emotions they felt that day.
Johnson: But I remember myself, I wanted to be around people. I wanted it to be, I’m glad I was with you, but I wanted to get back to my wife. I wanted to see my boys. I think a lot of people felt that way, you know.
Finnegan: You kind of hunker down.
Johnson: You hunkered down.
Finnegan: Be in a safe place and keep your people safe.
Johnson: Yeah, the wanting to help was clearly there, and we were very proud of how Pittsburgh responded. And in a strange way, here in our backyard...people on Flight 93 stopped another terrorist flight.
They hope this anniversary can become an important message for people who are too young to remember what happened.
Finnegan: There are many, many people who are too young, or were too young to remember this. And I hope this anniversary helps people realize what a wonderful country we live in, and the kindness of people, the bravery of people.
Johnson: You can’t hold onto every single memory when some of them are too hard to even think of.
Finnegan: But we’ll never forget the heroism of Flight 93 and Todd Beamer and that group of men.
Johnson: And having you next to me.
Finnegan: Thank you. Yeah. I feel the same about you.
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