Students Recall Bush's Furious Face When He Heard of September 11 Attacks

Students Recall Bush's Furious Face When He Heard of September 11 Attacks

by Mark Weisenmiller
Agence France-Presse
September 7, 2002

Students recalled President George W. Bush reading calmly to their class on September 11, and how his face switched to grave when an aide interrupted to tell him of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

"He had a very serious look on his face. He acted very upset and mad," recalled Kasey Kirby, 11, a student at the Emma E. Booker elementary school in Sarasota, Florida. Bush was reading to teacher Kay Daniels's second grade class, when White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card whispered in his ear that terrorists had attacked the United States.

"I immediately knew that something was wrong when I saw people walking up to the president, because his appearance was being broadcast live and it struck me as unusual that this was happening during a live TV broadcast," said Daniels.

None of the students or school staff had any clue at the time about what had just occurred.

"I was sitting in the front row right next to (Bush). I didn't know what (Card) was saying to him -- maybe telling the president that somebody robbed a bank," said eight-year-old Lazaro Dubroq.

After being informed of the attacks, the president continued reading the book, "Pet Goat" to the 16-member class.

"Physically he was there, but mentally he was far away," said Daniels.

Parents and teachers say the events of September 11, when terrorists slammed fuel-laden jetliners into the Trade Center's twin towers in New York and into the Pentagon, outside Washington, as well as a field in Pennsylvania, have forever marked the 645 students at the school in the southeastern US state.

Dave Kirby said his daughter "takes things more seriously now."

"The terrorist attacks made her and all of her classmates grow up quick," he said.

Lazaro's mother said she spoke to her son about the events of September 11. "I tried to make him appreciate his freedom," said Maria Isabel Dubroq. "My husband is from Cuba and I'm from Mexico and we have seen people going hungry and other horrible things. So I tried to tell Lazaro that he should be thankful for what he has."

"I don't know if it's because he's growing, but he seems to speak in a more mature manner since September 11th. He answers questions directly and is a bit more serious than he was," she added.

Florida's secretary of education, Rodney Paige, and other officials plan to attend a ceremony at the school to commemorate the events of September 11.

Bush has sent a videotape in which he apologizes to the students for not being able to attend and offers his best wishes, according to principal Gwendolyn Tose-Rigall.

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