9/11 Special

9/11 Special

Early morning hours with much lower rain chances.

>> leah: today we continue to remember what happened in new york city.

Where we are, what we are to go.

We can remember the lives we lost on that day, including emergency personnel.

One of those was officer christopher amoroso.

Joining us his sister.

First, jessica, did i pronounce his name right?

>> you did.

>> leah: thank you far talking with us today and can't imagine how this day is for you every single year.

I won't even pretend to know.

My question to you, jessica, first, is how are you feeling?

>> i'm okay.

You know, each year it is a little bit different.

This year it is a little bit harder.

I just had a son and it is a little bit harder to look at him and, you know, trying to explain knowing that i will have to explain one day what happened to his uncle but, you know, i have a great support system.

My husband and my family is a little bit harder sometimes to be away from, you know, new york, new jersey, that the area, that it is just -- everybody feels it no matter what.

You just walk around and you know that these people have felt some affect of 9/11 whether they knew somebody personally or, you know, knew somebody that lost somebody that lost somebody but i'm okay today.

>> some people may think 19 years ago it was a long time ago.

How could you give us some perspective on, one, why we shouldn't forget about this day but how hard it is to get past something like this, if you ever even do.

>> it is extremely difficult to remember this day as difficult as it is.

I'm a schoolteacher and -- as challenging as it is to talk to these kids about 9/11 and trying to get them to understand i always do it because if i'm not going to do it, somebody that was permly affected by it, how could i expect other people to talk about this.

It is urn comfortable.

Yes, do i cry?

Always.

But the kids then take the conversation home to their parents or to their grandparents, uncle, friend.

That's all we can do to honor these people that lost their lives.

They are not here any more because they gave the ultimate sacrifice.

So i feel like it is my job to carry on my brother's legacy.

>> leah: that's what i was going to ask you.

Before we go, i'm not sure how much time we have.

Your brother, what do we need to know about him.

He was fighting on ground zero.

>> yes.

So my brother was 29 at the time.

He, believe it or not, it was the first day at the trade center.

He was normally at the port authority bus terminal and he was called to the trade center that day.

Through talking to will hamino, who was one of the survivors pulled, he was in my brother's unit.

There were only five men and two of them made it out alive.

Will and john mclaughlin were pulled out of the rubble.

After talking with him i was able to kind of relive my brother's last moments, which is incredible because i know that was not easy for will to share and continue to share all the time, but there's a famous picture if you google my brother's name saving people.

He has the gash on the side of his face.

When he was called to emergency unit, this five man team, they said to chris, you're done.

You're injured, do not go back in there.

He said i'm not going to sit here while everybody else is doing something.

I may have a little injury on my face but my body is fine.

He went back into the tower and that's when it started to crumble and luckily, you know, john and will, they had ran into elevator shaft and were they saved but everybody else lost their lives.

>> leah: just a testimony to his character.

Jessica, i wish we could talk longer with you but i'm told we have to wrap it up.

Again, thank you.

You're in my prayers, you and your family