Never-before-seen photos show former President George W. Bush on September 11, 2001, as terrorist attacks unfolded.
The collection shows Bush at an elementary school in Florida as he found out about the terrorist attacks. The images follow the president as the day unfolds, in one of the darkest moments in United States history. He is seen meeting with advisers, watching the news after planes hit the World Trade Center, and preparing for his address to the nation after the attacks.
The images were released by the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on May 6, and is the third batch released via a Freedom of Information Request from “Frontline.”
The photographs were taken by Eric Draper, who was President Bush’s personal photographer.
President George W. Bush during his visit to the Emma E. Brooker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla., on Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
President George W. Bush and his staff, including Press Secretary Ari Fleischer (L), moved to a holding room in the Florida elementary school where Bush prepared to address Americans on Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
President Bush on Air Force One on his way to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana as he watches the news on the attacks from his office on the plane on Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
The president talks on the telephone at the General Dougherty Conference Center at Barksdale Air Force Base, Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
President George W. Bush with senior adviser Karl Rove at Barksdale Air Force Base, Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
President Bush with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card at Barksdale Air Force Base. Before leaving the base, the president held a press conference saying those responsible for the attacks would be hunted down and punished, Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
President Bush is consoled by Lt. Col. Cindy Wright of the White House Military Office aboard Air Force One. After leaving Louisiana, he was flown to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska before heading back to Washington D.C., Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
President George W. Bush arrives at the White House Presidential Emergency Operations Center around 7 p.m. Here he is shown with his wife, First Lady Laura Bush, Vice President Cheney and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
The president prepares to address the nation at 8:30 p.m. from the White House on Sept. 11, 2001. His speech hints upcoming wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
President Bush addresses the nation following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
The president's speech is shown on the teleprompter on Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
Immediately after Bush addresses the nation he holds a national security meeting with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and others on Sept. 11, 2001. (Courtesy: George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum)
