# “The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Seen. And The Most Beautiful.” 9/11 - 25 Years Later With Connell McShane.

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/the-worst-thing-i-ve-ever-seen-and-the-most-beautiful-9-11-25-years-later-with-connell-mcshane
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/the-worst-thing-i-ve-ever-seen-and-the-most-beautiful-9-11-25-years-later-with-connell-mcshane.md
Podcast: [Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff](https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737)
Published: 2026-09-13T10:08:00+00:00
Episode link: https://bleav.com/shows/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff/episodes/the-worst-thing-ive-ever-seen-and-the-most-beautiful-9-11-25-years-later-with-connell-mcshane/
Audio file: https://pdrl.fm/c39fb6/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/1385/injector.simplecastaudio.com/c67dcf2c-bdc6-42d2-91a1-db918b8e8626/episodes/4d6491b7-f9ee-4b91-9fcf-5ca847211b17/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=c67dcf2c-bdc6-42d2-91a1-db918b8e8626&awEpisodeId=4d6491b7-f9ee-4b91-9fcf-5ca847211b17&feed=8GTvjwcf
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Duration seconds: 877

## Resource

Twenty-five years later, Paul Rieckhoff finally tells his own 9/11 story in full. Sitting at Ground Zero with Fox Business correspondent Connell McShane, Paul walks through the days he'd quit his Wall Street job, linked up with fellow New York National Guardsmen, and searched the shattered bottom of the Winter Garden while truck horns signaled another possible collapse. It is the worst thing he has ever seen. It is also, he says, the most beautiful — because of the unity, the volunteers, the fire crew from Arkansas that just got in the rig and started driving. Retired combat pilot Glenn Ignazio joins from the other side of the world he was on that day, in a wartime footing on the Iraqi border when the second plane hit.

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## Transcript

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