Tom Brokaw, Stephen Colbert Talk 9/11 (VIDEO)

Tom Brokaw recalled his experience on 9/11 and reflected on how the country has changed in the past ten years on Thursday's "Colbert Report."

Brokaw will be speaking to some of the people he interviewed immediately after 9/11 to commemorate the tenth anniversary. Speaking to Colbert, Brokaw said that re-visiting the events was instructive, and provided a chance to reflect.

In one of the lighter moments of the interview, he recalled that he had been doing yoga when he got a call about the first attack on the Twin Tower. Colbert asked, "Were you wearing yoga pants, the type that are really sexy and tied up top and flare out at the knee? That's a separate tragedy that I don't want to talk about."

Brokaw was making his way downtown to the studio when a radio host said that another plane had hit the second Twin Tower. He recalled, "I called my wife who was in Montana and I said, 'We're at war and I don't know when we're gonna be able to talk, you better get up and start watching this.'"

Brokaw, who anchored all day with Katie Couric and Matt Lauer, said that it took him everything he knew to get through the day.

He said, "When I play the tape back in my mind, there was a real surreal quality about it. It seemed to unfold in a kind of slow-mo way because we didn't know what was gonna happen next. When you go to war or when Hurricane Irene is coming ashore, you have a little warning. In this case, it completely stunned all of us."

"It took me everything I knew not just as a journalist but as a husband and as a father and as a citizen to get through that day."

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Comments

[proffordisabilities]

11:52 AM on 09/14/2011

I was walking through the conference room and chaos was suddenly raging on the tv and I just stood there watching and waiting for more and OMG I had this feeling that suddenly there was going to be a revolt of Muslims here in America in all the large cities, and I stayed and watched as long as I could and then there was another hit and I had the sensation I was swirling in space with nothing to hold onto and then t hey were talking about another one heading for the Pentagon and the passengers knew they had to stop it and they knew they had to go down with the plane no matter where so they took over the plane and brought it down in a field. And we were all nervous how to react to the meeting the principal had after school, she was very, very Jewish and we were all wondering what we should say to her in these controversial moments because she was Jewish first and a human being second, and we both knew where we stood. Within 3 months we were paper trained and we knew how long our leash was and after the 2nd year I was ready to leave, and I think all the awards and letters of commendation even from the Superintendent, I think she hated me a little bit more and a little more...so I went to teach college...my masters was better than her masters =).

[westcoastsc]

04:17 PM on 09/11/2011

Brokaw hangs with some of the baddest rich people in politics there are.

[skybar]

03:38 PM on 09/11/2011

Sorry, but I'm really tired of hearing people say where they were on 9-11.

[Laserbeam]

10:09 PM on 09/11/2011

Your comment is really unnecessary. Bad form.

[spilkus]

07:52 AM on 09/13/2011

Really, Gatsby? Bad form? Yes, skybar, down at the club you would be a laughingstock. You couldn't show your face until after the season, old boy.

[Ry Bread]

10:19 PM on 09/11/2011

Get over it... and learn to deal with it for just one day..

[heidkist]

10:59 AM on 09/11/2011

Taped everything from day one and on.......First few hours every single news anchor commented how the ground shook from "THE EXPLOSIONS"....how they could hear "THE EXPLOSIONS" and suddenly the next day it was never mentioned again!! Not one single word about "THE EXPLOSIONS" that took place on day one! Also mentioned on day one by every single anchor was the fact that the WTC came down like an orchestrated demolition, and that was never mentioned again after day one!! I have it all on tape and we should all be questioning what exactly happened that day!!

[notreallyabadguy]

01:14 PM on 09/11/2011

This has some of the news audio and street interviews with police and firemen talking about demolition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_E4N5YIycI

[trumbull desi]

10:30 AM on 09/12/2011

Heid ... you need to get a grip.

[SMASH CAPITALISM]

10:14 AM on 09/11/2011

TO the poster below that says religion has no place in public, why do you seem to think this is north Korea? If i want to stand out and preach in the street, why do you think the gubmint should stop me. If you dont like it, take my signs and punch me. Im an anarchist, so i WONT call the cops on you

[hopeisalive]

08:57 AM on 09/11/2011

For most of us, we remember where we where when certain events occur. I was sitting in a Spanish class when President Kennedy was shot and I was preparing a class as a substitute teacher when another teacher said to turn on the TV as a plane collided with the first tower. I watched in horror to see the second plane crash and then knew, like Mr. Brokaw that we were in a war again. God bless those families who lost members and God bless America.

[MichaelMcKLA]

02:34 AM on 09/11/2011

I have always liked Brokaw. He and his crew did great work.

[top686]

09:02 PM on 09/10/2011

WITH THOSE 3 GIVING THE NEWS WE WERE LUKY TO GET PAST THE COFFEE.

[mcwhomper]

08:48 PM on 09/10/2011

i don't understand why they didn'tget the b-14s in the air as soon as a threat was apparent

[kevinc5a]

08:35 PM on 09/12/2011

What's B-14?

[jmartinlegal]

07:53 PM on 09/10/2011

Alabama now 2 - 0. Roll Tide.

[deeptubes]

06:58 PM on 09/10/2011

Anniversaries are things to be celebrated e.g. the anniversary of your birth, the anniversary of your child's birth, the anniversary of your wedding, the anniversary of our nation's birth. We do not celebrate the anniversary of Pearl Harbor being bombed. We do not celebrate the anniversary of JFK's assassination. We do not celebrate the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Let's come up with another term to describe the remembrance of this horrible event. "Anniversary" is simply a poor word choice.

[AlyceMD3]

09:01 PM on 09/10/2011

Remembrance. Lest we forget.

[AlyceMD3]

06:56 PM on 09/10/2011

I wonder what Walter Cronkite would have said.

[quedog]

07:55 AM on 09/11/2011

walt would have suggested that tom brush his teeth
tom could butter some biskits with those pearly yellows

[AspenAlways]

12:26 PM on 09/11/2011

You are indeed a very deep thinker. Congratulations.

[edwardandersons]

05:44 PM on 09/10/2011

What suprises me after watching all the footage of news from that September morning was the lack of emotion from the reporters. I actually find it very odd that these people were witnessing an attack on their country and none of them shed a tear. The most suprising is the woman reporters who did react with an "oh my" and "look at that" but no heart wrenching emotions as they the towers fall. I know people will say they have to be professional but come on this is the ffirst time something of this magnitude has occured. Also I wonder how they reported shortly after the attack that Osama bin ladin and his terrorists are the perpetrators. How could anyone arrive at this conclusion if supposedly no one ever thought as we been told that terrorists would fly planes into a building? This is what makes the whole 9/11 tragedy so suspicious. Why did it take so long to have a commission investigate this massive event? Why did Bush and Cheney testify without being under oat in secret ? Why is the information of what they said still not released to the public? I hope they someday realise all the info so we can finally put these questions to rest once and for all.

[tangledweb1027]

06:44 PM on 09/10/2011

Both Cheny and Bush address their activities and thoughts at the time in their books. No one was uneffected, everyone was shocked and stunned. But, some of us, like the President and the reporters don't have the luxury of reacting with emotion.

And NO this is not the first time something like this happened. Comparisons to Pearl Harbor were immediate and correct. The eruption of Mt. St helene was also shocking as was the Large earthquake in San Francisco which collapsedone of the highways.

[YOKEL13]

07:01 PM on 09/10/2011

Yes, very strange that people who knew NOTHING about the attacks on September 10 knew so much by September 12.

Personally, I remember that day very well. At first, I had difficulty comprehending what was happening. After the first tower came down, I said to my sister and mother, "I think we just watched 10,000 people die!" Of course, we had no way of knowing how many people were in the buildings. I was horrified, but emotionally numb.

As for the reporters, they often are required to report on emotionally wrenching events. I think they were as moved as anyone, but did their jobs well.

[firstclassdjz]

05:25 PM on 09/10/2011

So let us never forget the events of that day, now ten years past, and remember those who died in the attacks - as well as the heroes who showed their uncommon valor by providing aid. And (despite what Obama and Bloomberg say) let us PRAY for the peace that only faith in God can provide to the surviving family members of all who lost their lives.

[AlyceMD3]

06:25 PM on 09/10/2011

Thank you, djz!

[wonderYrednow]

09:40 PM on 09/10/2011

Blank you, Alyce!

[mookworthjwilson]

07:48 PM on 09/10/2011

So the atheists who died don't matter then, huh??? Stopping pushing your BS on us.

[Mij13]

05:24 PM on 09/10/2011

This was one of the best interviews I've seen yet on the subject of the anniversary. But I still don't know what the headline was referring to. Was there something about Brokaw taking yoga that was supposed to surprise us? Or was it the fact that he told his wife, "we're at war"? I dunno. Good interview though.