Just hours before America changed forever, Andrew Card remembers the start of that Tuesday morning like many others.
"I remember it was a perfect day," Card said, per The Times. "When I stepped outside, when the sun came up, it was just like a perfect day."
But the chief of staff to President George W. Bush was not in New York or Washington on September 11, 2001. He was in Sarasota, Florida, with a class of students at Emma E. Booker Elementary School.
Recalling breaking down the morning to the president, Card told Bush: "You’re going to read a book with second graders, and it was his favorite topic, leaving no child left behind in education, and it'll be an easy day."
Watch Andrew Card tell President George W. Bush about the attacks:
At 8:46AM, the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center. But according to Card, the belief, at first, was that it was a smaller private plane.
"I’m standing at the door to the classroom with the principal, and the president and I were standing there when a Navy captain named Deb Loewer came up to the president and said 'Sir, it appears a small twin-engine prop plane crashed into one of the towers at the World Trade Center.'
"The principal, president all had the same reaction - 'Oh, what a horrible accident, the pilot must have had a heart attack or something,'" Card continued.
Moments later, after the president was already seated with the children, Card would learn it was a commercial airliner.
"Captain Loewer came up to me and said, 'Oh my God, another plane hit the other tower at the World Trade Center,'" he recalled.
It was then, when the unforgettable moment of Card letting the president know what had happened became a photo to remember.
"As the students were reaching under their desks, that's when I walked up to the president, leaned over, and whispered, 'A second plane hit the second tower, America is under attack,'" he said.
"I then stood back from him so he couldn't ask me a question. I watched him digest what I said."
Bush soon left the classroom, as chaos in the rest of the country ensued.
He gave a speech before quickly departing on Air Force One. Card says to this day, it was that moment where Bush became president.
"I honestly believe that was the moment he understood what the job of the president of the United States is," he said. "It's not about your personal agenda. It’s about keeping your oath of office. Preserve, protect and defend."
The event claimed the lives of 2,977 people and injured - at least - an additional 25,000, the Washington Post reports, forever changing anti-terrorism legislation around the world.
Our thoughts continue to go out to the American people and anybody still affected by this tragedy.
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