Peter was born to be an anchor,

Peter will have a place in this brotherhood forever.

The real test of an anchor is when there's a very big event. Sept. 11 is the quintessential example of that, and that day it took everything that I knew as an anchor, as a citizen, as a father, as a husband, to get through it.

Peter is an old friend. I'm heartbroken, but he's also a tough guy. I'm counting on him getting through this very difficult passage.

I've been lucky from my earliest memory on. I happened to be born to the right parents, and the lives we led - working class, migratory - suited my personality. I had an adventurous mindset, and we lived on an Army base, then in South Dakota - it was a dynamic environment.

[The late ABC anchor Peter Jennings] really took me under his wing, ... I was able to develop strengths I didnt know I had largely through Peter. [He] let me write the way I wanted to write, allowed me to develop a bit of a voice.