From STRATCOM to a statewide town hall, archival footage captures how Nebraskans experienced and responded to 9/11.
Welcome to From the Archives! I’m Alexis Scargill, Media Archivist here at Nebraska Public Media. Each month, I’ll highlight treasures from our collection spanning more than 70 years of broadcast history in our great state.
How We Remember 9/11
Anyone over a certain age can recall where they were on the morning of September 11, 2001. The memory of a historic event is both personal and collective; it’s experienced differently by every person it touched, and that experience changes over time. As we mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, I want to explore two different angles: Nebraska’s unexpected role in a historical event that unfolded more than a thousand miles away, and how ordinary people were feeling one month later.
Nebraska’s Secure Bunker
Most of us recall the historic footage of President George W. Bush’s Chief of Staff whispering in the president’s ear that morning in a Florida classroom. The president’s time spent in the secure bunker command center of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue does not have an equivalent video clip seared into the public consciousness, but it’s understandable why. The goal that morning was to find a refuge for advisors to debrief the president on the morning’s events. (The bunker, dismantled in 2019, was built to withstand nuclear attack). In fact, security was so high that even staff working at Offutt wasn’t aware until later.
Clip from STRATCOM 9/11: A Different Doomsday
“Is This Real World or Exercise?”
In our 2011 documentary, STRATCOM 9/11: A Different Doomsday, a lesser-known angle of that morning is explored through the experience of the people who were there. That morning, STRATCOM was participating in an annual “war games” exercise called Global Guardian to test its military readiness. This coincidence made the experience all the more surreal for military members, who initially thought news of hijacked airliners may be part of the exercise. The 30-minute documentary captures an oral history of that morning that may have been otherwise lost and forgotten. It’s definitely worth your time—and you can watch it in full online.
A Moment in Time
Since our memories change over time, it’s especially interesting to get a view into the thoughts and feelings of people one month after the event. (I suppose I wouldn’t be an archivist if I didn’t feel strongly about that.) We have access to newspaper archives, and thanks to the Internet Archive, we also have some blogs and message boards from that time. But there’s something special about audiovisual materials that allow us to connect with history in a more visceral and vivid way.
Nebraska Responds: A Town Hall Meeting
On October 24, 2001, we held a town hall meeting—in person, live on TV and simulcast on radio—giving the general public the opportunity to discuss whatever was on their mind in the aftermath of 9/11, and to ask questions of panelists representing different perspectives. Among the panelists: former Governor Mike Johanns and representatives from the Nebraska National Guard, University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Creighton University.
Fragility of History
Since this program only aired live, we had just one recording from that night—a tape that is also 25 years old. Time is not kind to magnetic media, and it took our operators a lot of patience and finesse to get a signal off this tape. Now that it’s been digitized, the fear of losing this historic moment is relieved. But it is another reminder of the precarity of these tape formats which are nearing the end of their lifespan, as well as the scarcity of digitization equipment which has long since been discontinued. No pressure, archivists!
You can watch Nebraska Responds: A Town Hall Meeting in full on our website. Please be forgiving of the occasional hits in audio and video signal from this old tape, which did its best. In the meeting, a variety of concerns surfaced including: the potential threat of agricultural terrorism, increased experiences of discrimination against the Muslim and Arab communities, racial profiling, media misinformation, and the fear of anthrax in mail. It’s an interesting historical artifact that I’m glad to see preserved.
Your dad might have a book for every military engagement of World War II. That’s analogous to me with 9/11 history. So, we could be here all day if I don’t wrap this up. Thanks for reading, watching, listening to and supporting public media!
What would you like to see from the archives? I would love to hear from you! Send your questions, hopes and dreams to fromthearchives@nebraskapublicmedia.org. I’ll see you next month!
Published Sept. 2026