WATCH LIVE: George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice reflect on 9/11 impact 25 years after attacks

Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America, former President George W. Bush is planning to sit down with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday evening for an event at the George W. Bush Presidential Center at SMU in Dallas.

The event, titled “A Legacy of Service: America at the 25th Anniversary of 9/11,” will be the former president’s only public remarks on the attacks this year, according to the Bush Center.

The sold-out event starts at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday and will be streamed live at the top of this article.

The conversation with Rice is expected to explore how the attacks changed and shaped the country, with a focus on service. At the time of the attacks, Rice served as the U.S. National Security Advisor and later became Secretary of State.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, spoke near the start of the event, sharing his recollections of the day.

25 years ago, Caine was an Air Force F-16 pilot stationed at Andrews Air Force Base just outside of Washington, D.C. He recalled it was a crystal clear morning and as he met with other members of the squadron about the flying schedule for the week ahead, the group learned something was wrong.

“A young enlisted intelligence professional came in and said to me an airplane has just hit the World Trade Center,” remembered Caine, adding, “Something didn’t feel right.”

Like many other Americans, Caine watched live TV news footage from New York showing smoke pouring from the first tower.

“Out of the corner of the camera shot came the second airplane, and in our squadron, you could have heard a pin drop,” he said. “And what seemed like an eternity, and I think it was probably just a few seconds, we instantly knew that the United States of America was under attack.”

Caine went over to the phone, calling a weapons storage center on the other side of the base that housed emergency weapons only meant to be brought out during war, telling them to bring the live missiles over.

Caine vividly described the moments after when he and other pilots began donning their flight suits and harnesses. While others headed to their jets, he waited for the live missiles, and saw the fax with the rules of engagement from the White House.

“I could hear the vice president talking to his military aide as we got ready to go fly, and in one of the moments that stuck with me over these last 25 years, General Worley read us the rules of engagement that had been issued by the president,” said Caine. “That put the decision on whether to ram or shoot an airliner on us.”

“General Worley, in a moment I will never forget – a leadership moment I will never forget, looked me straight in the eye and he said, ‘Dan, I don’t know what you’re going to face out there. I think you’re going to have to do some incredibly difficult things. No matter what, I trust you,’” he remembered.

Moments later, Caine saw smoke rising from the Pentagon, and ran to his jet to take off.

In a conversation with former Deputy National Security Advisor J.D. Crouch, Caine discussed the decision some young Americans made to enlist after the attacks.

“[They] saw the chance to serve something greater than themselves, knowing full well that they were signing up to go into combat,” said Caine.

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This story originally appeared on NBCDFW.com.