WATCH THE FULL SPECIAL BELOW:
Echoes of September: A 9/11 Special
Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, the people who lived through that morning as first responders, survivors and witnesses told WPTV the memories remain as vivid as ever.
From the rubble of Ground Zero to classrooms in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, the weight of that day continues to shape lives, careers, and communities.
25 YEARS LATER
Former NYPD detective: ‘I did not see a Democrat. I didn’t see a Republican. I saw Americans.’
Sal Van Casteren told WPTV’s Kayla McDermott he was a New York City Police Department detective on September 11. His office was in 6 World Trade Center. A twist of fate kept him away from the building that morning — and he has spent the years since grappling with why.
Sept. 11, 2001, was Election Day in New York City — a detail Van Casteren said many people have forgotten…