WEBVTT

00:00.240 --> 00:03.540
today , my name is Caroline Wilson and

00:03.540 --> 00:05.262
I am the Director of community

00:05.262 --> 00:07.040
engagement in the office of the

00:07.040 --> 00:09.151
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense

00:09.151 --> 00:11.262
for public Affairs , that's the whole

00:11.262 --> 00:14.590
lot . Um This saturday marks the 20th

00:14.590 --> 00:17.580
anniversary of the 9 11 attacks on the

00:17.580 --> 00:21.250
pentagon and this year our goals are to

00:21.250 --> 00:24.730
remember and to educate we

00:24.730 --> 00:26.730
remember the lives lost in new york

00:26.730 --> 00:28.630
city here in the pentagon and in

00:28.630 --> 00:31.160
shanksville pennsylvania . We also

00:31.160 --> 00:34.070
remember the pentagon survivors who are

00:34.070 --> 00:36.126
still around to tell the stories and

00:36.126 --> 00:38.460
these stories . Can these individuals

00:38.460 --> 00:41.070
continue to work here today as part of

00:41.070 --> 00:44.020
our goal to educate um We invited you

00:44.020 --> 00:47.030
to hear a little about the story of 9

00:47.030 --> 00:50.280
11 and the stories of two pentagon

00:50.280 --> 00:52.490
survivors we have with us D . O . D .

00:52.490 --> 00:56.000
Historian dr uh tom Lastman Where your

00:56.000 --> 00:58.960
hand ? Doctor Lastman ? Great . And

00:58.960 --> 01:02.560
then Pentagon survivor uh Colonel

01:02.560 --> 01:05.150
retired robert Hoge who is the acting

01:05.150 --> 01:07.261
assistant to the second , I'm sorry ,

01:07.261 --> 01:09.539
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy .

01:09.539 --> 01:11.428
And then we have with us Pentagon

01:11.428 --> 01:14.480
survivor , Miss cassandra johnson and

01:14.480 --> 01:18.170
she is uh an Associate General Counsel

01:18.180 --> 01:20.670
with the Department of the Army . So dr

01:20.670 --> 01:22.837
Lastman , let me turn it over to you .

01:22.837 --> 01:25.840
Okay , thank you very much , welcome

01:25.840 --> 01:27.951
everybody . Glad that you're all here

01:28.050 --> 01:30.190
as soon as I get my slides up on the

01:30.190 --> 01:34.160
screen uh we'll

01:34.160 --> 01:37.150
start mm

01:38.440 --> 01:41.510
I hope Mhm I don't see slides ,

01:41.520 --> 01:42.780
hopefully the slides

01:45.240 --> 01:47.440
just a moment . Yeah

01:55.500 --> 01:58.360
okay , he's the slides are loading um

01:58.840 --> 02:00.840
I've got some really good slides so

02:00.840 --> 02:04.700
it's worth the wait . Mhm . We're

02:04.700 --> 02:06.220
having a lot .

02:09.040 --> 02:12.760
Mhm . Oh okay .

02:19.240 --> 02:21.760
Yeah . Mhm .

02:23.440 --> 02:24.440
Yeah .

02:27.740 --> 02:29.850
Uh huh . Oh .

02:47.140 --> 02:49.960
Uh huh . Okay . There we go .

02:51.040 --> 02:54.260
Uh huh . Just need to get the full

02:54.260 --> 02:56.860
screen . Yes . Okay .

02:58.140 --> 03:00.362
The pentagon headquarters of the United

03:00.362 --> 03:02.084
States military is the largest

03:02.084 --> 03:04.307
government office building in the world

03:04.307 --> 03:06.529
big enough to hold five U . S . Capitol

03:06.529 --> 03:08.696
complex is all shown here On a typical

03:08.696 --> 03:10.807
workday before the current pandemic .

03:10.807 --> 03:12.696
Approximately 25,000 civilian and

03:12.696 --> 03:14.640
military personnel reported to the

03:14.640 --> 03:16.640
Pentagon for duty . Five concentric

03:16.640 --> 03:18.696
rings labeled A through E . From the

03:18.696 --> 03:20.940
inner to the outer . Most intersect 10

03:20.940 --> 03:23.162
radial corridors that provide efficient

03:23.162 --> 03:25.329
access to offices and hallways located

03:25.329 --> 03:27.496
throughout the buildings . Five floors

03:27.496 --> 03:28.496
slide to police .

03:35.040 --> 03:36.160
Mm . Mhm .

03:38.940 --> 03:42.820
Yeah . Yes . Have a slide to

03:42.820 --> 03:43.320
please

03:48.240 --> 03:50.700
thank you and is here you can see the

03:50.710 --> 03:53.210
labeled rings , A . B . C . D . And E .

03:53.310 --> 03:55.590
Um and then the numbered corridors in

03:55.590 --> 03:58.020
this overhead view of the building May

03:58.020 --> 04:01.260
have slide three please . As the

04:01.260 --> 04:03.800
workday began on September 11 , 2001 ,

04:03.800 --> 04:06.100
exactly 60 years to the day after work

04:06.100 --> 04:07.878
crews had broken ground for the

04:07.878 --> 04:10.860
Pentagon news . The two Boeing 7 67

04:10.860 --> 04:13.082
jetliners had that struck the north and

04:13.082 --> 04:15.249
south towers of the World Trade Center

04:15.249 --> 04:17.416
in new york city shocked the country .

04:17.416 --> 04:19.471
May have slide for police Here is by

04:19.471 --> 04:21.471
the way , a shot of construction on

04:21.471 --> 04:24.570
September 15 , 1941 4 days after the

04:24.570 --> 04:27.720
ground breaking the Pentagon , A third

04:27.720 --> 04:30.330
aircraft american Airlines flight 77

04:30.330 --> 04:32.108
had departed from nearby Dulles

04:32.108 --> 04:34.052
International Airport at 8:20 a.m.

04:34.052 --> 04:35.760
Bound for Los Angeles with 58

04:35.760 --> 04:37.704
passengers and six crew members on

04:37.704 --> 04:41.280
board . Slide five police . This is the

04:41.280 --> 04:44.360
type of aircraft that took off that day

04:44.360 --> 04:46.700
from Dulles Airport When it reached the

04:46.700 --> 04:49.150
Ohio Valley , the hijacked Boeing 757

04:49.150 --> 04:51.372
reversed course and turned back towards

04:51.372 --> 04:53.594
Washington , now piloted by one of five

04:53.594 --> 04:55.539
al Qaeda terrorists who had seized

04:55.539 --> 04:58.070
control . Slide six , please . Nearing

04:58.070 --> 04:59.959
the Pentagon , the al Qaeda pilot

04:59.959 --> 05:02.126
lowered the aircraft altitude to about

05:02.126 --> 05:04.970
2000 ft and increase the speed to 530

05:04.970 --> 05:07.140
mph closer to the building . The

05:07.140 --> 05:09.660
airliner dropped down to 150 ft low

05:09.660 --> 05:11.660
enough to knock down light poles on

05:11.660 --> 05:13.882
nearby Washington boulevard slide seven

05:13.882 --> 05:16.610
please . Here is a schematic diagram

05:16.610 --> 05:18.832
showing the flight path of the aircraft

05:18.832 --> 05:20.943
as it approached the building . Slide

05:20.943 --> 05:23.054
eight , please . And here is a ground

05:23.054 --> 05:25.054
view showing it from behind what it

05:25.054 --> 05:27.166
looked like as it Right at the impact

05:27.166 --> 05:30.060
point , may have slide nine please . At

05:30.060 --> 05:33.000
9:37 a.m. Flight 77 slammed into the

05:33.000 --> 05:35.167
west side of the pentagon at the first

05:35.167 --> 05:37.222
floor near the fourth corridor . The

05:37.222 --> 05:39.056
front of the aircraft's fuselage

05:39.056 --> 05:41.278
exploded on impact , but the midsection

05:41.278 --> 05:43.333
and the tail penetrated the interior

05:43.333 --> 05:45.278
splintering aircraft parts blasted

05:45.278 --> 05:47.389
through the D ring , then punctured a

05:47.389 --> 05:49.444
hole through the outer C ring wall .

05:49.444 --> 05:51.111
They have slide 10 , please .

05:54.120 --> 05:56.231
This is the outer C ring wall showing

05:56.231 --> 05:59.080
the extent of this is the far point of

05:59.080 --> 06:01.610
the aircraft is at the farthest point

06:01.610 --> 06:03.930
it reached . May have slide 11 please .

06:09.140 --> 06:11.251
And this again is the same shot . You

06:11.251 --> 06:13.418
can see the hole on the right and this

06:13.418 --> 06:15.418
is the access drive between the two

06:15.418 --> 06:18.530
between corridors , B and C . The jet

06:18.530 --> 06:20.870
fuel ignited in flames shot 200 ft into

06:20.870 --> 06:23.037
the air while fireballs spread through

06:23.037 --> 06:25.148
the building corridors , hallways and

06:25.148 --> 06:27.370
offices , debris and flames spilled out

06:27.370 --> 06:29.550
onto the service road between the C .

06:29.550 --> 06:32.000
And D . Rings shown here , an uncovered

06:32.000 --> 06:33.833
area that allowed flames and the

06:33.833 --> 06:35.833
remaining force of the explosion to

06:35.833 --> 06:37.833
escape and dissipate into the air ,

06:37.833 --> 06:40.000
leaving the B and A rings intact . The

06:40.000 --> 06:41.833
jetliner had cut an 80-foot gash

06:41.833 --> 06:43.833
through the Pentagon's exterior and

06:43.833 --> 06:46.000
left a path of destruction longer than

06:46.000 --> 06:48.111
a football field through three of its

06:48.111 --> 06:50.167
rings . Slide 12 , police . And here

06:50.167 --> 06:52.278
you can see the extent of the path of

06:52.278 --> 06:54.278
the aircraft is once it entered the

06:54.278 --> 06:56.556
building all the way up to Andy Driver ,

06:56.556 --> 06:58.840
that hole appeared unlike the world

06:58.840 --> 07:01.062
trade centers to vertical skyscrapers .

07:01.062 --> 07:03.062
The pentagon's expansive horizontal

07:03.062 --> 07:05.390
design aided human efforts to contain

07:05.390 --> 07:07.446
the damage and minimize casualties ,

07:07.620 --> 07:09.787
Most of the building remained intact .

07:09.787 --> 07:11.731
It continued to function an urgent

07:11.731 --> 07:13.953
priority necessary to maintain military

07:13.953 --> 07:16.176
readiness . The damage and loss of life

07:16.176 --> 07:18.231
likely would have been worse had the

07:18.231 --> 07:20.064
airliner crashed into one of the

07:20.064 --> 07:22.176
buildings other sections which lacked

07:22.176 --> 07:22.080
the modern safety and structural

07:22.080 --> 07:25.290
improvements built into wedge want The

07:25.290 --> 07:27.346
recently named section that absorbed

07:27.346 --> 07:29.568
the horrible impact , may have slide 13

07:29.568 --> 07:30.568
please

07:33.440 --> 07:36.930
here you can see the five wedges which

07:36.930 --> 07:39.150
are color coded on near corridor four

07:39.150 --> 07:41.700
is wedge one which I referred to And

07:41.700 --> 07:43.756
then the other corridors . The other

07:43.756 --> 07:45.644
four wedges are shown all the way

07:45.644 --> 07:48.730
through wedge five nearly a decade

07:48.730 --> 07:50.952
earlier in the early 19 nineties , work

07:50.952 --> 07:53.286
had begun on a building wide renovation ,

07:53.286 --> 07:55.230
the first one undertaken since the

07:55.230 --> 07:57.341
pentagon opened in 1943 engineers had

07:57.341 --> 07:59.563
divided the building into five numbered

07:59.563 --> 08:01.563
sections called wedges shown here ,

08:01.563 --> 08:03.786
each one to be upgraded in a sequential

08:03.786 --> 08:06.119
clockwise direction . On september 10th ,

08:06.119 --> 08:08.119
2000 and 11 day before the attack ,

08:08.119 --> 08:10.008
Nearly 4000 military and civilian

08:10.008 --> 08:12.119
personnel had settled back into their

08:12.119 --> 08:13.841
workplace routines in the just

08:13.841 --> 08:15.841
completed and thoroughly modernized

08:15.841 --> 08:17.897
wedge one . The impact zone May have

08:17.897 --> 08:20.470
slide 14 please . After the impact ,

08:20.470 --> 08:22.637
the new sprinkler system and wedge one

08:22.637 --> 08:24.859
sprang into action to contain the fires

08:24.859 --> 08:27.026
while the steel reinforced outer walls

08:27.026 --> 08:29.026
help stabilize areas near the crash

08:29.026 --> 08:31.081
site long enough for those inside to

08:31.081 --> 08:33.248
escape the new blast resistant windows

08:33.248 --> 08:35.359
in the outer E ring held to shielding

08:35.359 --> 08:37.526
occupants from deadly shards of flying

08:37.526 --> 08:39.637
glass and preventing outside air from

08:39.637 --> 08:41.803
rushing inside to fuel the fires their

08:41.803 --> 08:43.692
resiliency however , also limited

08:43.692 --> 08:45.637
access and escape routes after the

08:45.637 --> 08:47.526
impact victims trapped inside and

08:47.526 --> 08:49.637
firefighters in search of more points

08:49.637 --> 08:51.803
of entry to douse the flames struggled

08:51.803 --> 08:53.859
to break the glass . Then conditions

08:53.859 --> 08:55.637
worsened . 30 minutes after the

08:55.740 --> 08:58.080
airliner hit the building , The ring

08:58.080 --> 09:00.910
collapsed from the 5th Down through the

09:00.910 --> 09:03.021
second floors , leaving a gaping hole

09:03.021 --> 09:05.420
about 95 ft across and 50 ft deep .

09:05.430 --> 09:06.500
Slide 15 please .

09:16.340 --> 09:18.229
And here you can see the collapse

09:18.229 --> 09:20.173
section of the wall . Secretary of

09:20.173 --> 09:22.340
Defense Donald Rumsfeld , who had been

09:22.340 --> 09:24.507
in the third floor earring office when

09:24.507 --> 09:26.618
flight 77 hit the building , made his

09:26.618 --> 09:28.673
way outside , then headed toward the

09:28.673 --> 09:30.840
billowing black smoke . He paused long

09:30.840 --> 09:32.673
enough to help rescue crews lift

09:32.673 --> 09:32.450
victims onto stretchers before he

09:32.450 --> 09:34.561
returned to his office to confer with

09:34.561 --> 09:36.450
the President Slide 16 , Please .

09:38.940 --> 09:41.162
Here you can see secretary Rumsfeld 3rd

09:41.162 --> 09:44.320
from the right , helping other rescuers

09:45.040 --> 09:47.680
carry victims to safety In the

09:47.680 --> 09:49.624
Pentagon's building operations and

09:49.624 --> 09:51.736
command senator monitor boards showed

09:51.736 --> 09:54.560
more than 300 Act 350 activated fire

09:54.560 --> 09:56.970
alarms . The heating and refrigeration

09:56.970 --> 09:59.340
plant nearby also reported a

09:59.340 --> 10:01.562
significant drop in water pressure , an

10:01.562 --> 10:03.729
ominous sign for firefighters on their

10:03.729 --> 10:05.840
way to the scene of the explosion and

10:05.840 --> 10:07.896
resulting damage had severed utility

10:07.896 --> 10:09.896
lines , allowing water to gush from

10:09.896 --> 10:12.062
broken pipes . Low water pressure also

10:12.062 --> 10:14.062
risk disabling the air conditioning

10:14.062 --> 10:16.062
system , putting vital computer and

10:16.062 --> 10:17.896
communications equipment at risk

10:17.896 --> 10:19.951
building personnel scrambled to keep

10:19.951 --> 10:21.951
the heating and refrigeration units

10:21.951 --> 10:23.951
running and cut power to electrical

10:23.951 --> 10:25.896
volts near the crash site to allow

10:25.896 --> 10:28.062
rescue crews to pull victims to safety

10:28.062 --> 10:27.930
without the additional threat of

10:27.930 --> 10:30.620
electrocution . The pentagon continued

10:30.620 --> 10:32.430
to operate to maintain military

10:32.430 --> 10:34.460
readiness but did so under severely

10:34.460 --> 10:36.349
adverse conditions as thick smoke

10:36.349 --> 10:38.682
filled hallways , corridors and offices .

10:38.682 --> 10:40.904
At a press conference in on the evening

10:40.904 --> 10:42.849
of the attack , Secretary Rumsfeld

10:42.849 --> 10:44.627
conveyed a clear message to the

10:44.627 --> 10:46.793
american . People quote , the pentagon

10:46.793 --> 10:49.016
is functioning , it will be in business

10:49.016 --> 10:51.349
tomorrow , end , quote the next morning ,

10:51.349 --> 10:53.571
more than 10,000 employees converged on

10:53.571 --> 10:55.793
the smoldering building to resume their

10:55.793 --> 10:55.580
work , either in shared office spaces

10:55.580 --> 10:59.080
or temporary swing spaces . Nearby work

10:59.080 --> 11:01.400
crews brought in to rebuild wedge one

11:01.560 --> 11:03.393
and complete the building . Wide

11:03.393 --> 11:05.671
renovation still faced a daunting task .

11:05.671 --> 11:07.671
Twisted metal , shattered glass and

11:07.671 --> 11:09.782
broken concrete covered nearly half a

11:09.782 --> 11:12.060
million square feet at the impact zone .

11:12.060 --> 11:14.227
Beyond the physical destruction . More

11:14.227 --> 11:16.449
than three times that area stood coated

11:16.449 --> 11:18.870
with greasy black soot Slide Slide 17

11:18.870 --> 11:19.870
Please .

11:22.640 --> 11:24.807
And here you can see the extent of the

11:24.807 --> 11:26.862
damage Of course to the green is the

11:26.862 --> 11:29.084
impact zone and then the resulting fire

11:29.084 --> 11:31.970
damage uh , and also caused by water

11:31.970 --> 11:34.720
and so on , eager to begin . Workers

11:34.720 --> 11:36.887
favored a tight schedule that promised

11:36.887 --> 11:38.887
to put Defense Department employees

11:38.887 --> 11:40.998
back into the rehabilitated and fully

11:40.998 --> 11:43.220
functional outer ring by september 11th

11:43.220 --> 11:45.331
2000 and two , exactly one year after

11:45.331 --> 11:47.553
the attack Demolition at the crash site

11:47.553 --> 11:49.776
began five weeks after the attack crews

11:49.776 --> 11:51.942
worked around the clock , seven days a

11:51.942 --> 11:53.942
week to remove rubble and strip all

11:53.942 --> 11:56.053
that remained of wedge one While dump

11:56.053 --> 11:57.942
trucks hauled away 56,000 tons of

11:57.942 --> 12:00.053
debris work that normally took months

12:00.053 --> 12:02.109
to complete proceeded much faster as

12:02.109 --> 12:04.164
crews push themselves to the limit .

12:04.164 --> 12:06.387
One of the site managers explained that

12:06.387 --> 12:08.609
just like a phoenix , the mythical bird

12:08.609 --> 12:10.664
that rises from the ashes . So too ,

12:10.664 --> 12:12.887
with the pentagon , the phoenix project

12:12.887 --> 12:14.942
as it came to be known , adopted the

12:14.942 --> 12:17.053
slogan quote , Let's roll end quote .

12:17.053 --> 12:17.000
The words spoken by one of the

12:17.000 --> 12:19.000
passengers on board hijacked United

12:19.000 --> 12:20.944
Airlines flight 93 that crashed in

12:20.944 --> 12:23.050
shanksville pennsylvania . Soon

12:23.050 --> 12:24.994
pentagon construction workers wore

12:24.994 --> 12:26.994
phoenix project jackets and adorned

12:26.994 --> 12:29.050
their hard hats with phoenix project

12:29.050 --> 12:32.370
stickers You have slide 18 please As

12:32.370 --> 12:34.426
twisted metal and shattered concrete

12:34.426 --> 12:36.537
gave way to clean lines in a pristine

12:36.537 --> 12:38.648
look . Two separate events marked key

12:38.648 --> 12:40.481
milestones in the reconstruction

12:40.481 --> 12:42.648
program . In April 2002 , construction

12:42.648 --> 12:44.648
workers helped held two topping off

12:44.648 --> 12:46.870
ceremony to celebrate the completion of

12:46.870 --> 12:48.926
the concrete work . First responders

12:48.926 --> 12:51.037
invited back to the Pentagon , joined

12:51.037 --> 12:53.314
them to mark the occasion . On June 11 ,

12:53.314 --> 12:55.370
workers carefully placed the last of

12:55.370 --> 12:57.537
4000 blocks of limestone facing on the

12:57.537 --> 12:59.759
building's exterior . The final piece ,

12:59.759 --> 13:01.703
a chart fragment that survived the

13:01.703 --> 13:03.426
attack had been inscribed with

13:03.426 --> 13:06.230
September 11 , 2001 sealed inside the

13:06.230 --> 13:08.090
wall behind it . A time capsule

13:08.090 --> 13:10.201
included letters from school Children

13:10.201 --> 13:12.423
patches and badges from police and fire

13:12.423 --> 13:14.368
personnel who had responded to the

13:14.368 --> 13:16.700
attack . A phoenix project patch and a

13:16.700 --> 13:18.867
bronze box containing the names of the

13:18.867 --> 13:21.320
184 victims . The black and limestone

13:21.320 --> 13:23.431
panel is the only exterior remnant of

13:23.431 --> 13:25.598
the damage sustained on September 11 .

13:25.740 --> 13:29.460
They have slide 19 please , 20 years on

13:29.460 --> 13:32.440
the memories of September 11 , 2001

13:32.440 --> 13:34.620
still linger grieving families ,

13:34.620 --> 13:36.398
military personnel and civilian

13:36.398 --> 13:38.453
employees continue to pay tribute to

13:38.453 --> 13:40.453
those who died through a compelling

13:40.453 --> 13:42.620
memorial built on the pentagon grounds

13:42.620 --> 13:44.620
after the attack . Family members ,

13:44.620 --> 13:46.787
friends of the victims and visitors to

13:46.787 --> 13:49.120
the pentagon left letters , photographs ,

13:49.120 --> 13:51.231
teddy bears , an american flags and a

13:51.231 --> 13:51.060
makeshift memorial near the crash site .

13:51.940 --> 13:53.996
Plans for a more permanent tribute .

13:53.996 --> 13:56.107
Also got underway . Two acres of land

13:56.107 --> 13:58.218
outside the pentagon's west wall near

13:58.218 --> 14:00.273
flight 77 point of impact serve as a

14:00.273 --> 14:02.162
memorial site . May have slide 20

14:02.162 --> 14:05.580
please . The memorial itself features

14:05.580 --> 14:08.660
184 cantilever cast aluminum benches

14:08.660 --> 14:11.280
shown here inscribed with each victim's

14:11.280 --> 14:13.280
name set above their own reflecting

14:13.280 --> 14:15.130
pools and lit from below . The

14:15.130 --> 14:17.019
architects arranged the benches ,

14:17.019 --> 14:19.220
benches in lines according to each

14:19.220 --> 14:21.109
victim's year of birth , from the

14:21.109 --> 14:23.331
youngest to the oldest and in a pattern

14:23.331 --> 14:26.000
that marks the path of Flight 77 . The

14:26.000 --> 14:28.222
benches are oriented such that visitors

14:28.222 --> 14:30.444
who read the names of the 59 victims on

14:30.444 --> 14:32.333
board the aircraft always look up

14:32.333 --> 14:34.389
towards the sky . Likewise , for the

14:34.389 --> 14:36.444
victims who worked in the pentagon ,

14:36.444 --> 14:38.611
the visitors view always tracks to the

14:38.611 --> 14:40.833
building . A wall along the edge of the

14:40.833 --> 14:40.550
memorial begins at a height of three

14:40.550 --> 14:43.000
inches in memory of three year old dana

14:43.000 --> 14:46.060
Falkenberg and rises to 71 inches at

14:46.060 --> 14:48.171
the other end for the oldest victim ,

14:48.171 --> 14:51.460
71 year old john Nicky 85 Maple trees

14:51.460 --> 14:53.293
add to the serenity of the space

14:53.293 --> 14:55.238
culminating in a moving tribute to

14:55.238 --> 14:57.460
those who perished on that Tragic Day .

14:57.460 --> 14:57.450
Thank you

15:03.540 --> 15:07.280
to me . Okay . To me

15:07.290 --> 15:10.910
from you . Yeah , great . Thank you so

15:10.910 --> 15:13.360
much . Doctor last men for that brief

15:13.360 --> 15:16.260
his history of uh the attack on the

15:16.260 --> 15:19.160
pentagon . Um , I am going to now turn

15:19.160 --> 15:22.630
it over to miss cassandra johnson . Um ,

15:22.630 --> 15:24.852
ma'am . Would you please share a bit of

15:24.852 --> 15:26.860
your story as a survivor that day ?

15:27.740 --> 15:29.670
Sure . And thank you for this

15:29.670 --> 15:33.220
opportunity to talk to directly to each

15:33.220 --> 15:35.890
of you because this is a day that if

15:35.890 --> 15:38.057
you didn't live through it , it's hard

15:38.057 --> 15:41.140
to imagine the horrors of the day

15:41.150 --> 15:43.360
whether you were at the near the new

15:43.360 --> 15:46.060
york site or watching it the pentagon

15:46.070 --> 15:48.910
or shanksville . And I have to say , uh ,

15:48.920 --> 15:51.320
end of May , I did make a trip with my

15:51.320 --> 15:53.700
husband to shanksville pennsylvania and

15:53.700 --> 15:55.811
it's very moving . I encourage all of

15:55.811 --> 15:58.760
you to go there and see that site . Um ,

15:58.770 --> 16:02.710
they did a great tribute . Um , so

16:02.720 --> 16:06.720
on that day and it couldn't have been a

16:06.720 --> 16:10.140
more beautiful blue

16:10.150 --> 16:13.620
sky , Cloudless sky . It was gorgeous ,

16:13.630 --> 16:16.520
Just completely crisp and everything .

16:16.520 --> 16:20.360
Just a nice day . And As everybody else

16:20.360 --> 16:22.582
in the building , 25,000 of us , I went

16:22.582 --> 16:25.380
to work that day . Um , didn't seem

16:25.380 --> 16:27.920
like any other anything special about

16:27.920 --> 16:29.753
the day . I had several meetings

16:29.753 --> 16:31.940
scheduled and one of them was to be .

16:31.950 --> 16:35.200
Uh in a meeting with my operations and

16:35.200 --> 16:37.033
personnel group from the general

16:37.033 --> 16:39.290
counsel's office . We proceeded to meet

16:39.290 --> 16:41.457
in our what we call the front office .

16:41.457 --> 16:44.240
Um So we could have a meeting And I

16:44.240 --> 16:47.550
remember our secretary at that time .

16:47.560 --> 16:49.449
She came in a little bit late are

16:49.449 --> 16:52.270
meeting started at 9:00 PMclock and she

16:52.270 --> 16:55.360
said you know a plane hit uh

16:56.040 --> 16:58.373
one of the World Trade Center buildings .

16:58.373 --> 17:00.373
And we all looked at each other and

17:00.373 --> 17:02.540
said it was cloudy was it some kind of

17:02.540 --> 17:05.490
pilot error ? Um We just didn't know

17:05.490 --> 17:07.760
what you know how to react . And we

17:07.760 --> 17:10.470
just continued with our meeting a few

17:10.470 --> 17:12.650
minutes later there's a knock on the

17:12.650 --> 17:15.690
door and someone came in and wanted to

17:15.690 --> 17:17.690
talk to my supervisor . And at that

17:17.690 --> 17:20.990
time and you may have heard after 9 11

17:21.000 --> 17:24.200
all of the functions that deal with

17:24.210 --> 17:28.050
working with the civil authorities and

17:28.050 --> 17:31.780
the D . O . D . Um uh the pentagon

17:31.790 --> 17:35.120
um were held really within D . O . D .

17:35.130 --> 17:38.430
And my supervisor was an advisor to the

17:38.430 --> 17:41.170
civilian authorities for legal issues .

17:41.540 --> 17:43.762
And so I got a knock on the door . They

17:43.762 --> 17:46.730
wanted to talk to him and he said you

17:46.730 --> 17:48.897
know he's in the middle of a meeting .

17:48.897 --> 17:50.952
They whispered something to him . He

17:50.952 --> 17:53.008
came back to our meeting few minutes

17:53.008 --> 17:55.174
later another knock on the door and my

17:55.174 --> 17:57.420
supervisor asked one of my colleagues

17:57.420 --> 17:59.587
to go to the door and see what's going

17:59.587 --> 18:01.920
on . She went to the door , came back ,

18:01.920 --> 18:04.540
whispered something in his ear . We had

18:04.540 --> 18:07.540
no idea what was being said . And we

18:07.540 --> 18:09.484
had a meeting for about another 10

18:09.484 --> 18:11.830
minutes or so and he dismissed us to go

18:11.830 --> 18:14.790
back to our desk and we as we're

18:14.790 --> 18:17.320
walking out of the office we are front

18:17.320 --> 18:19.598
office had a big T . V . And the T . V .

18:19.598 --> 18:22.990
Was set up . And as we're walking past

18:22.990 --> 18:26.960
the tv we saw President Bush um

18:26.970 --> 18:30.080
on the stage at the school and someone

18:30.080 --> 18:31.913
had just come over and whispered

18:31.913 --> 18:34.136
something to him , didn't know what was

18:34.136 --> 18:37.160
going on , continued back to my desk

18:37.740 --> 18:40.720
um started returning some phone calls

18:40.730 --> 18:43.390
and I didn't feel the building shake or

18:43.390 --> 18:45.780
anything like that . But I did hear a

18:45.780 --> 18:49.180
very light like a like a like a pop

18:49.180 --> 18:51.820
almost and that was about it . So I'm

18:51.820 --> 18:54.300
sitting at my desk busy and next thing

18:54.300 --> 18:56.720
I know our executive officer comes by

18:56.720 --> 18:59.860
very calmly and says can you all just

18:59.870 --> 19:01.981
pick up your belongings , your purses

19:01.981 --> 19:04.510
whatever . Just leave the building

19:04.520 --> 19:06.960
let's leave quietly . And I remember

19:06.960 --> 19:08.849
putting my hands down on the desk

19:08.849 --> 19:11.127
saying I've got nothing to worry about .

19:11.127 --> 19:14.370
I'm in the pentagon I'm safe here and

19:14.380 --> 19:17.570
got up , grabbed my purse , walked out

19:17.580 --> 19:20.460
and then proceeded as dr houseman

19:20.470 --> 19:24.270
showed you the corridors of going from

19:24.270 --> 19:27.340
the ring to the a ring and we emptied

19:27.340 --> 19:29.520
out pretty much all my office to the

19:29.530 --> 19:31.697
ring and I looked out the window and I

19:31.697 --> 19:34.020
saw this big bello of smoke . I had no

19:34.020 --> 19:36.076
idea what that was . I'm like , oh ,

19:36.076 --> 19:38.020
must be the outer buildings at the

19:38.020 --> 19:41.170
pentagon . So we proceeded very calmly .

19:41.740 --> 19:44.420
25 people , if you can imagine just

19:44.440 --> 19:47.650
emptying out . And we came out into

19:47.660 --> 19:50.430
what is the south parking lot at that

19:50.430 --> 19:53.550
moment . I know I went into shock

19:53.940 --> 19:56.800
and what I saw was the only way I could

19:56.800 --> 19:58.870
describe it was you hear people talk

19:58.870 --> 20:02.860
about an out of body experience . I was

20:02.860 --> 20:05.910
witnessing what I thought in my mind

20:05.910 --> 20:09.910
was a Bruce Willis one of those meet

20:09.920 --> 20:12.610
one of those movies that were very big

20:12.620 --> 20:16.610
back then , where you saw police

20:16.610 --> 20:19.430
cars screeching by fire trucks ,

20:19.440 --> 20:22.940
helicopters overhead . The smoke just

20:22.940 --> 20:25.750
behind that beautiful blue sky and the

20:25.750 --> 20:27.750
whiteness , gray , whiteness of the

20:27.750 --> 20:31.280
building and people running toward us

20:31.300 --> 20:33.690
saying is any asking is anybody there

20:33.690 --> 20:36.110
with medical assistance ? None of us

20:36.110 --> 20:38.221
did . We were attorneys . We had some

20:38.221 --> 20:40.388
public affairs people that had kind of

20:40.388 --> 20:43.640
gathered with us and it was total

20:43.640 --> 20:46.450
chaos and we looked , I looked behind

20:46.450 --> 20:49.290
me and 3 95 if those of you who are

20:49.290 --> 20:51.730
familiar with this Pentagon area and

20:51.730 --> 20:54.990
the Pentagon City was literally a

20:54.990 --> 20:57.101
parking lot . And again , it was like

20:57.101 --> 20:59.212
those disaster movies where everybody

20:59.212 --> 21:01.268
gets into their car to get away from

21:01.268 --> 21:03.460
whatever is going on , the threatening

21:03.460 --> 21:06.730
situation and people were going nowhere

21:06.740 --> 21:10.610
fast . Just total parking lot as

21:10.740 --> 21:12.907
I'm trying to absorb all this , we all

21:12.907 --> 21:15.440
are a police officer came running

21:15.440 --> 21:17.500
toward us in the parking lot and he

21:17.500 --> 21:21.420
said , get away from the building as

21:21.420 --> 21:24.790
fast as you can . There is a rogue

21:24.800 --> 21:28.610
plane coming this way . And in

21:28.610 --> 21:31.890
my mind I was like pentagon ,

21:32.740 --> 21:35.090
I don't know what that meant , but all

21:35.090 --> 21:37.220
we knew was get away from the parking

21:37.220 --> 21:39.190
lot . We turned around and started

21:39.190 --> 21:41.660
walking toward Pentagon city . In the

21:41.660 --> 21:44.300
meantime , the press had started coming .

21:44.760 --> 21:46.927
The news had gone out from not only in

21:46.927 --> 21:49.149
new york , but what had happened to the

21:49.149 --> 21:51.260
pentagon . The press was all over the

21:51.260 --> 21:53.204
ground . They had no idea what was

21:53.204 --> 21:55.316
going on . They were asking us and we

21:55.316 --> 21:59.030
heard the rumors where the

21:59.040 --> 22:02.990
white house had been hit . The capital

22:02.990 --> 22:05.440
had been hit . The old executive office

22:05.440 --> 22:08.480
building had been hit and in my case my

22:08.480 --> 22:11.730
husband was a lobbyist for a business

22:11.730 --> 22:14.380
group and that is where he spent his

22:14.380 --> 22:16.730
day . If it wasn't the old Executive

22:16.730 --> 22:18.952
office building , it was Capitol hill .

22:18.952 --> 22:21.063
So I had no idea where he was , if he

22:21.063 --> 22:24.790
was safe or what . And I left my car

22:24.790 --> 22:26.846
behind at the pentagon parking lot .

22:26.846 --> 22:29.340
Didn't care if it was burning blown up .

22:29.350 --> 22:31.517
I had no idea . I didn't care . I just

22:31.517 --> 22:33.239
needed to get home . One of my

22:33.239 --> 22:36.030
colleagues uh , park the car at shady

22:36.030 --> 22:39.850
grove , uh , uh , metro station

22:39.860 --> 22:42.380
and uh , took a ride with her on the

22:42.390 --> 22:44.740
subway so she could drive me home . I

22:44.740 --> 22:46.684
remember thinking to myself as I'm

22:46.684 --> 22:48.740
getting in the subway car which goes

22:48.740 --> 22:51.040
underground , Washington D . C . As

22:51.040 --> 22:54.760
like if Washington D . C . Above

22:54.770 --> 22:57.580
is burning has collapsed and I'm caught

22:57.580 --> 22:59.580
in the middle underground . I don't

22:59.580 --> 23:02.670
care . That's what God wanted to have

23:02.670 --> 23:05.110
happened to me . We finally got out

23:05.120 --> 23:07.240
from under out the subway underground

23:07.250 --> 23:10.830
out to the Bethesda area and I called

23:10.900 --> 23:13.190
as soon as I got home it was about two

23:13.190 --> 23:15.246
o'clock in the afternoon . Of course

23:15.246 --> 23:17.079
this had happened at 9 37 in the

23:17.079 --> 23:20.800
morning And I called my colleague who

23:20.810 --> 23:23.580
had um I had replaced when I came to

23:23.580 --> 23:25.680
the pentagon . He retired the end of

23:25.690 --> 23:29.500
April 2001 known him for 15 years

23:29.500 --> 23:32.360
before that . And I was hired to

23:32.360 --> 23:34.780
replace him in the office . And I

23:34.780 --> 23:37.260
called his home and I said Ernie

23:38.340 --> 23:41.300
um we all got out of the pentagon .

23:41.310 --> 23:44.770
We're all safe of stories to tell .

23:44.780 --> 23:48.540
I'll call you tonight . Well that phone

23:48.540 --> 23:52.100
call became a very important connection

23:52.100 --> 23:56.060
with his family because my colleague ,

23:56.440 --> 24:00.410
mentor friend for years Was

24:00.410 --> 24:03.420
in a meeting that he had told me about

24:03.430 --> 24:07.100
just a few days before 9:11 . And he

24:07.100 --> 24:09.120
wanted to have three people from my

24:09.120 --> 24:11.287
office including myself at the meeting

24:11.287 --> 24:13.398
with him and they were going to brief

24:13.398 --> 24:15.800
general mod who was our three star

24:15.810 --> 24:18.570
deputy Chief of Staff for personnel on

24:18.570 --> 24:20.792
automating military personal benefits .

24:21.240 --> 24:24.140
And within a few years my portfolio was

24:24.140 --> 24:27.030
civilian personnel law . They were

24:27.030 --> 24:28.808
gonna do the civilian personnel

24:28.808 --> 24:30.890
benefits . And he wanted us at the

24:30.890 --> 24:33.112
meeting and he goes , I'll let you know

24:33.112 --> 24:36.520
when the meeting is well . But for the

24:36.530 --> 24:38.752
grace of God , I would have been in the

24:38.752 --> 24:41.230
meeting that he was in because the

24:41.230 --> 24:45.150
plane literally came in To the meeting

24:45.150 --> 24:47.820
area on the 4th corridor , 4th and 5th

24:47.820 --> 24:50.990
corridor . Uh everybody in the meeting

24:51.000 --> 24:54.400
perished . Uh that night I saw

24:54.400 --> 24:56.511
President Bush at 8:30 . He addressed

24:56.511 --> 24:59.500
the nation . I was still trying to wrap

24:59.500 --> 25:01.500
my brain around what had happened ,

25:01.500 --> 25:03.667
probably seeing the World Trade Center

25:03.667 --> 25:06.940
collapsed 5060 times . And I got a

25:06.940 --> 25:10.200
phone call about 10:00 and it was

25:10.210 --> 25:12.210
Shirley Wilshire , Ernie Wilshire's

25:12.210 --> 25:15.880
wife . And she said , I said how are

25:15.880 --> 25:18.870
you doing fine ? Where's Ernie ? She

25:18.870 --> 25:21.680
said not here . I said where is he ? 10

25:21.680 --> 25:23.847
o'clock at night ? And she said he was

25:23.847 --> 25:27.310
a ground zero when she said that I knew

25:27.310 --> 25:30.770
immediately what that meant . He was at

25:30.780 --> 25:34.380
the meeting and had been killed . And

25:34.380 --> 25:37.340
she explained to me that my phone call

25:37.350 --> 25:39.572
at about three o'clock in the afternoon

25:39.840 --> 25:42.560
when she heard it . And she said

25:42.750 --> 25:46.330
cassandra , within the pentagon is home

25:46.340 --> 25:50.100
safe now calling , where is Ernie ? He

25:50.110 --> 25:52.530
does not work in the pentagon . She had

25:52.530 --> 25:54.641
no idea about his meetings that day .

25:55.140 --> 25:58.570
And um she said my phone call prepared

25:58.570 --> 26:01.960
her and her two sons for the

26:02.740 --> 26:05.550
Visit . That booz Allen Hamilton gave

26:05.550 --> 26:08.250
her at about 9:00 that night to tell

26:08.250 --> 26:10.490
her that Ernie was in the meeting and

26:10.490 --> 26:14.420
had perished . So um for

26:14.420 --> 26:16.650
those of us who lived through it , even

26:16.650 --> 26:19.020
my kids , we all remember where we were .

26:19.150 --> 26:22.860
It was tragedy numbness , all those

26:22.870 --> 26:25.980
awful feelings . And that's my

26:25.980 --> 26:28.920
connection to 9 11 . And not a day goes

26:28.920 --> 26:31.020
by when I come into the pentagon . I

26:31.020 --> 26:33.470
have a a little thing that was being

26:33.470 --> 26:36.390
passed out to each of us that some of

26:36.390 --> 26:38.112
our senior leaders came by and

26:38.112 --> 26:40.340
personally saw to see if we were okay

26:40.340 --> 26:44.280
the next that day a few days later and

26:44.290 --> 26:46.630
I still have it at my desk and that's

26:46.630 --> 26:48.600
my connection to Ernie . And we're

26:48.600 --> 26:50.640
honoring him tomorrow at a special

26:50.640 --> 26:52.640
ceremony where we're dedicating our

26:52.640 --> 26:55.530
conference room in his memory . General

26:55.530 --> 26:59.000
Counsel's office . Thank you . Thank

26:59.000 --> 27:02.380
you Miss johnson for sharing your story .

27:02.390 --> 27:05.760
Uh Colonel Retired . Mr bobby Hogue .

27:07.240 --> 27:10.130
So good . Good morning . Good afternoon

27:10.130 --> 27:12.297
everybody . And thanks for giving us a

27:12.297 --> 27:14.297
chance to talk to you . Happy to be

27:14.297 --> 27:16.519
here with dr Lastman and Miss johnson .

27:16.519 --> 27:19.060
Very important topic . I'll try to be

27:19.060 --> 27:21.440
brief because I think the most value

27:21.440 --> 27:23.440
that we can get out of this is just

27:23.440 --> 27:25.496
hearing from you what your questions

27:25.496 --> 27:29.230
are trying to respond to those . Um So

27:29.240 --> 27:32.330
my day started out much as uh Sanders

27:32.330 --> 27:34.520
did . I had , I was at the time . The

27:34.520 --> 27:36.576
deputy counsel for the commandant of

27:36.576 --> 27:38.687
the Marine Corps , A senior executive

27:38.687 --> 27:40.990
on the Marine Corps staff is seen in

27:40.990 --> 27:42.879
the Marine Corps has a very small

27:42.879 --> 27:45.990
senior executive cadre , Only two SCS

27:46.530 --> 27:49.140
lawyers myself as the deputy of my boss ,

27:49.140 --> 27:51.362
Mr Peter Murphy , who was the council .

27:51.362 --> 27:53.900
And if you know anything about the

27:53.900 --> 27:56.122
Marine Corps , it's just these are just

27:56.122 --> 27:58.233
very demanding jobs . That particular

27:58.233 --> 28:01.590
day I had a 6 30 breakfast with a four

28:01.590 --> 28:04.580
star up at the Navy annex which is just

28:04.580 --> 28:06.802
up the hill , one of the buildings that

28:06.802 --> 28:08.913
the plane had to pass on its way into

28:08.913 --> 28:10.913
the pentagon . That was a breakfast

28:10.913 --> 28:13.136
meeting was over about , I don't know ,

28:13.136 --> 28:15.024
7:15 or so I came down the hill ,

28:15.024 --> 28:17.191
walked into my boss's office and uh at

28:17.191 --> 28:19.490
that point the pictures out of new york

28:19.490 --> 28:22.170
were already on the television . Um

28:23.640 --> 28:25.418
I'll just share that . My first

28:25.418 --> 28:27.640
impression when I saw the photos out of

28:27.640 --> 28:30.860
new york was wow uh how did he manage

28:30.860 --> 28:32.971
to hit the building ? You know , it's

28:32.971 --> 28:35.280
just a complete reversal of what was

28:35.280 --> 28:37.440
happening , but your mind tries to

28:37.690 --> 28:40.720
impose order on what it sees and create

28:40.720 --> 28:44.210
reason . Uh Obviously I was a bit wrong

28:44.210 --> 28:46.432
there on the Deputy counsel . My job is

28:46.432 --> 28:48.510
to run the office . Uh I start

28:48.520 --> 28:51.740
organizing the day we had meeting set

28:51.750 --> 28:54.640
much as Miss johnson described about .

28:54.650 --> 28:56.610
It seems to me and my memories

28:56.610 --> 28:58.610
imperfect on this , but just before

28:58.610 --> 29:01.210
nine o'clock I was in the boss's office

29:01.210 --> 29:04.860
again and looking at the tv and

29:04.870 --> 29:08.130
the second plane flew into site , hit

29:08.130 --> 29:10.510
the second building and my first

29:10.510 --> 29:14.340
thought was wow lucky they got that on

29:14.340 --> 29:17.050
video . I mean , you know , I mean just

29:17.060 --> 29:19.282
one of those weird things , right ? The

29:19.282 --> 29:21.338
camera was in the right place at the

29:21.338 --> 29:23.504
right time and it's a very , I think a

29:23.504 --> 29:25.727
shot that we've all seen taken from the

29:25.727 --> 29:27.782
top of a skyscraper somewhere in new

29:27.782 --> 29:29.838
york , looking out at the two towers

29:29.838 --> 29:31.949
and when they replayed it , you could

29:31.949 --> 29:34.116
see the plane coming in from the right

29:34.116 --> 29:33.790
hand side , back into the building .

29:33.790 --> 29:37.730
And then I realized holy , that's the

29:37.730 --> 29:41.710
second building and then we're a nation

29:41.710 --> 29:45.050
at war and we work in the National

29:45.050 --> 29:48.650
Military Command Center . Um oh my

29:48.650 --> 29:52.050
God , this is D day , we have to now ,

29:52.050 --> 29:54.383
what do we do ? We have to do something .

29:54.383 --> 29:57.380
So we immediately try to jump into the

29:57.380 --> 30:00.480
next mindset , get ourselves on a

30:00.480 --> 30:02.702
wartime footing . What does that mean ?

30:02.702 --> 30:04.758
First thing it means is where are my

30:04.758 --> 30:07.150
people ? I have an office of 120 people .

30:07.150 --> 30:09.206
There were only 10 in the Pentagon ,

30:09.206 --> 30:11.317
but I've offices around the world , I

30:11.317 --> 30:13.483
need to reach out to each one of those

30:13.483 --> 30:15.372
offices , informed them or what's

30:15.372 --> 30:17.261
happening , Get them on a wartime

30:17.261 --> 30:19.206
footing , make sure that they know

30:19.206 --> 30:18.640
where their people are , their

30:18.640 --> 30:20.862
resources , their clients and that they

30:20.862 --> 30:22.807
are moving to prepare for whatever

30:22.807 --> 30:25.600
comes next . At some point I turned to

30:25.600 --> 30:27.850
our administrative chief who was a

30:27.860 --> 30:29.916
marine corporal named Garafola and I

30:29.916 --> 30:31.971
said Garafola , you need to call the

30:31.971 --> 30:34.027
pentagon command center and find out

30:34.027 --> 30:35.860
what the security status of this

30:35.860 --> 30:37.693
building is . You know , they're

30:37.693 --> 30:39.860
wrecking planes into buildings frankly

30:39.860 --> 30:38.830
we're in the flight pattern for

30:38.830 --> 30:41.100
national Airport . That's not a good

30:41.100 --> 30:43.950
thing . He calls , I go about my

30:43.950 --> 30:47.060
business , he comes in and tells me and

30:47.060 --> 30:49.370
but I should proceed this by saying I

30:49.370 --> 30:51.810
have an earring office on the west wall

30:51.820 --> 30:54.440
overlooking Columbia pike and Arlington

30:54.440 --> 30:57.060
cemetery . Anyway , he comes into my

30:57.060 --> 30:58.949
office and says , well the threat

30:58.949 --> 31:01.116
condition is normal threatcon normal .

31:01.116 --> 31:03.282
I said okay that obviously is going to

31:03.282 --> 31:06.030
change . You need to come in here every

31:06.030 --> 31:07.919
five minutes and report to me the

31:07.919 --> 31:09.752
status of this building until it

31:09.752 --> 31:12.240
changes roger that and I go about my

31:12.240 --> 31:14.351
business calling people getting ready

31:14.351 --> 31:16.462
for whatever comes next . He comes in

31:16.462 --> 31:18.629
religiously every five minutes to tell

31:18.629 --> 31:20.629
me threatcon still normal threatcon

31:20.629 --> 31:22.684
still normal . And on the last visit

31:22.684 --> 31:24.684
that I recall somewhere around 9 30

31:24.684 --> 31:26.907
comes in and says threatcon is normal .

31:26.907 --> 31:28.962
I jumped up from my desk . I pointed

31:28.962 --> 31:31.129
out the windows said for christ's sake

31:31.129 --> 31:29.920
we're in the flight pattern for

31:29.920 --> 31:31.698
national airport . How can this

31:31.698 --> 31:33.920
building still being threatcon normal ?

31:33.920 --> 31:36.087
I got up , walked around the desk . Uh

31:36.087 --> 31:38.142
we're an interior suite with offices

31:38.142 --> 31:40.253
inside . I have a completely enclosed

31:40.253 --> 31:42.364
office . It's a legal office you have

31:42.364 --> 31:45.130
to have privacy at times . Came around

31:45.140 --> 31:48.110
the doorway and I was headed to see my

31:48.110 --> 31:50.820
boss to say whatever I was thinking and

31:50.820 --> 31:52.987
what I thought we should do next . And

31:52.987 --> 31:55.098
right when I passed the admin chief's

31:55.098 --> 31:57.960
desk , that's when the plane hit and I

31:57.960 --> 32:00.127
would love to tell you , I have a very

32:00.127 --> 32:02.790
clear recollection of what that sounded

32:02.790 --> 32:05.350
like and felt like I only have a

32:05.350 --> 32:07.350
recollection of hearing a very loud

32:07.350 --> 32:11.110
grinding noise and vibration and then

32:11.110 --> 32:13.630
boom , The next thing I know I'm in the

32:13.630 --> 32:16.520
corner on the north side of the office

32:16.530 --> 32:19.270
and I've been blown from the south side

32:19.740 --> 32:21.629
through the ceiling tiles and the

32:21.629 --> 32:24.460
lights . And I woke up on my face

32:25.040 --> 32:27.790
looking to the west wall and I remember

32:27.790 --> 32:30.670
seeing , excuse me , Mhm .

32:32.540 --> 32:34.762
You have to understand that when you go

32:34.762 --> 32:36.651
through something like that , the

32:36.651 --> 32:38.873
compression is tremendous , the windows

32:38.873 --> 32:41.040
didn't blow out , so all of that force

32:41.040 --> 32:44.860
was kept inside . Um That

32:44.860 --> 32:47.027
also meant that there was no oxygen to

32:47.027 --> 32:49.138
feed the fire , so it couldn't ignite

32:49.138 --> 32:51.193
everything in our office immediately

32:51.193 --> 32:53.360
and that office remained intact . Um

32:55.040 --> 32:57.290
because my reset button had been mashed

32:57.290 --> 32:59.740
pretty hard , my senses came back

32:59.750 --> 33:02.110
fairly slowly . I remember looking at

33:02.110 --> 33:04.110
the window , you could see the this

33:04.110 --> 33:06.780
tumbling cloud outside the window and

33:06.780 --> 33:09.540
it black and white at first and as I

33:09.540 --> 33:11.651
was looking at it , I realized it was

33:11.651 --> 33:13.596
actually orange and black and then

33:13.596 --> 33:15.930
realization that's a fireball . Then I

33:15.930 --> 33:18.152
see my boss in the foreground , he's on

33:18.152 --> 33:20.208
the floor , there's a major in there

33:20.208 --> 33:22.720
trying to pick him up and slowly as it

33:22.720 --> 33:25.560
unfolds , we realized we've been hit .

33:26.140 --> 33:29.650
Um we got to get out of here and so we

33:29.650 --> 33:32.840
pick ourselves up more or less dust

33:32.840 --> 33:35.360
ourselves off , try to head to the door

33:36.540 --> 33:38.484
until the admin chief , you know ,

33:38.484 --> 33:40.651
careful , will get us out of here . He

33:40.651 --> 33:42.707
tries to open the door , the door is

33:42.707 --> 33:46.230
wedged shut Where we were unfortunately

33:46.230 --> 33:49.240
right above the three stars office . Um ,

33:49.250 --> 33:51.390
so the airplane hit directly under my

33:51.390 --> 33:54.000
office , took out all one and two piece

33:54.000 --> 33:56.960
of three . The explosion did whatever

33:56.960 --> 33:59.860
it did , it killed everyone below us ,

34:00.640 --> 34:04.560
broke my office in half . Um

34:05.140 --> 34:07.620
If you could put slide 15 up for a

34:07.620 --> 34:09.620
second , it might actually help you

34:09.620 --> 34:12.590
visualize this , the the pentagon . If

34:12.590 --> 34:14.840
you see that picture of the slice of

34:14.840 --> 34:16.896
the pentagon that collapsed , it's a

34:16.896 --> 34:19.062
very clean break on the left hand side

34:19.062 --> 34:21.284
and from the right hand side it kind of

34:21.284 --> 34:23.451
slopes down into the hole . That clean

34:23.451 --> 34:26.010
break is where Pieces of the building

34:26.010 --> 34:28.121
were joined . The Pentagon is not one

34:28.121 --> 34:30.343
stone building , it's a series of stone

34:30.343 --> 34:32.288
buildings joined by cables . Those

34:32.288 --> 34:34.399
cables connect expansion joints which

34:34.399 --> 34:36.621
allow the building to breathe to expand

34:36.621 --> 34:38.788
to contract depending on the weather .

34:38.788 --> 34:40.954
When the explosion occurred , it threw

34:40.954 --> 34:44.260
up the south side of that wedge ,

34:44.730 --> 34:47.170
snap some of the cables tore away from

34:47.170 --> 34:49.226
the north side of the building which

34:49.226 --> 34:51.600
you see standing to the left there , I

34:51.600 --> 34:53.656
was standing on the south side , the

34:53.656 --> 34:55.711
collapse section thrown to the north

34:55.711 --> 34:59.660
side . Um And because all of the

34:59.660 --> 35:01.771
pilings , all of those you can see on

35:01.771 --> 35:03.938
the right hand side some of those look

35:03.938 --> 35:05.993
like doorways , there are very large

35:05.993 --> 35:08.104
stone columns holding that section of

35:08.104 --> 35:10.216
the building up , those have all been

35:10.216 --> 35:12.960
taken out under us . So at that time

35:13.340 --> 35:16.480
The fifth floor was sagging down onto

35:16.480 --> 35:18.536
the 4th floor which was sagging down

35:18.536 --> 35:20.830
over the pit although there is no

35:20.830 --> 35:23.550
support structure anymore . All the way

35:23.550 --> 35:25.750
to that was sitting on the door frames

35:25.760 --> 35:28.960
of the 4th floor offices . So that

35:28.960 --> 35:31.480
becomes important . Later we couldn't

35:31.480 --> 35:33.790
get our door open corporal , careful

35:33.790 --> 35:36.360
pulled , pulled , pulled , start to

35:36.360 --> 35:40.280
realize we are above a very large fire .

35:40.280 --> 35:43.120
At this point there's a white mist in

35:43.120 --> 35:45.342
our office . It wasn't smoke at first .

35:45.342 --> 35:47.676
At first I thought it was smoking again ,

35:47.676 --> 35:49.898
My senses are coming back very slowly .

35:49.898 --> 35:52.200
Um And then I realized it's oily , it

35:52.200 --> 35:55.290
smells like kerosene , It's J . P .

35:55.290 --> 35:58.830
five which is jet fuel because the

35:58.830 --> 36:02.420
windows held the explosion had no

36:02.420 --> 36:04.840
oxygen to help ignite it on that floor .

36:05.530 --> 36:07.670
But the jet fuel got pushed through

36:07.670 --> 36:09.810
every crack into every office in that

36:09.810 --> 36:11.921
wedge and it was still hanging in the

36:11.921 --> 36:15.530
air where we were um I

36:15.530 --> 36:18.400
had significant brain injury was

36:18.400 --> 36:20.567
starting to suffer the effects of that

36:20.630 --> 36:23.080
clouds . Your thinking ear drums blown

36:23.080 --> 36:26.250
out . Couldn't hear very well . Um

36:27.730 --> 36:29.610
Unfortunately I'm also in charge

36:29.610 --> 36:32.490
because my boss at the time peter

36:32.490 --> 36:35.250
Murphy was fairly badly injured himself

36:35.250 --> 36:37.472
and he was an elderly guy , a great guy

36:37.830 --> 36:39.941
and he was having a tough time in the

36:39.941 --> 36:42.108
major basically had his arm around his

36:42.108 --> 36:44.910
shoulder was carrying him along . So as

36:44.910 --> 36:47.830
we try to open this door now , this is

36:47.830 --> 36:49.830
a part , you need to visualize that

36:49.830 --> 36:52.110
crack that seem that expansion joint

36:52.110 --> 36:54.277
which runs from the outer wall all the

36:54.277 --> 36:56.554
way through the building to the airing .

36:56.554 --> 36:58.888
The crack where the building broke open ,

36:58.888 --> 37:01.350
runs right under our door , which means

37:01.360 --> 37:04.470
we're standing above the fire , covered

37:04.470 --> 37:06.960
in jet fuel . And so

37:08.630 --> 37:12.550
this is a matter of some urgency and

37:12.930 --> 37:14.930
we pulled and pulled , got the door

37:14.930 --> 37:16.986
open just enough to squeeze out into

37:16.986 --> 37:19.290
the hallway . At that point , the south

37:19.290 --> 37:21.900
side of the building is in the process

37:21.900 --> 37:24.233
of collapsing . I know you've seen film ,

37:24.410 --> 37:26.521
the facade comes down , it looks very

37:26.521 --> 37:28.466
dramatic , that's the moment where

37:28.466 --> 37:30.521
collapse . It's not like that inside

37:30.521 --> 37:32.577
inside a chunk of the wall collapses

37:32.577 --> 37:34.521
and buckles , piece of the ceiling

37:34.521 --> 37:36.890
falls in The door frames to the south

37:36.890 --> 37:38.779
side of us were 30 yards from the

37:38.779 --> 37:41.710
Hallway , the door frames , solid core

37:41.710 --> 37:43.766
wood doors which are holding up that

37:43.766 --> 37:45.932
part of the building at this point are

37:45.932 --> 37:47.877
starting to explode because of the

37:47.877 --> 37:49.877
pressure on him and they're held in

37:49.877 --> 37:49.750
these steel frames . There's no place

37:49.750 --> 37:51.806
where it's not like they crumble and

37:51.806 --> 37:54.040
crack , they just bland blowout and

37:54.040 --> 37:56.070
embedded shards of wood in the wall

37:56.070 --> 37:58.820
directly across from them from where

37:58.820 --> 38:00.931
I'm standing . It looked like a scene

38:00.931 --> 38:02.876
from indiana jones with the escape

38:02.876 --> 38:05.010
scene , you know , avoid the rolling

38:05.010 --> 38:07.320
ball , try not to fall into the trap .

38:07.330 --> 38:10.200
So we have a choice now in that part of

38:10.200 --> 38:12.200
the pentagon at that time , you can

38:12.200 --> 38:14.367
only go in one of two directions , you

38:14.367 --> 38:16.589
can either go to the north on the north

38:16.589 --> 38:18.589
side , they're just wrapping up the

38:18.589 --> 38:20.756
construction in this first wedge . The

38:20.756 --> 38:22.867
construction entrance was still up so

38:22.867 --> 38:24.922
big plywood wall there with the door

38:24.922 --> 38:26.922
which was open and through which is

38:26.922 --> 38:29.260
pouring thick black smoke and to the

38:29.260 --> 38:31.482
south side , the collapsing part of the

38:31.482 --> 38:34.460
building , which is giving every

38:34.460 --> 38:36.700
indication that it's just going to go

38:36.700 --> 38:39.200
at any second . And so we're trying to

38:39.200 --> 38:42.450
decide , do we run which way do we run ?

38:42.460 --> 38:45.250
We run to the fire covered in jet fuel

38:46.020 --> 38:48.187
or do we run to the south and risk our

38:48.187 --> 38:50.353
lives that we can make it to the court

38:50.353 --> 38:52.353
or before the thing collapses . And

38:52.353 --> 38:54.920
then for me , just a great moment from

38:54.930 --> 38:57.210
a human perspective , a guy appears in

38:57.210 --> 38:59.210
the construction door , tan pants ,

38:59.420 --> 39:01.587
which says to me that's a navy chief ,

39:02.520 --> 39:05.660
uh , the guys who carry the navy and uh ,

39:05.670 --> 39:07.448
and he's hollering , he's using

39:07.448 --> 39:09.503
shipboard fire procedures if you can

39:09.503 --> 39:11.670
hear my voice come this way and so now

39:11.670 --> 39:13.614
we know we're going to live well ,

39:13.614 --> 39:15.726
unfortunately the smoke at this point

39:15.726 --> 39:17.948
is so hot , it's crammed up against the

39:17.948 --> 39:17.420
ceiling , but it's building , so it's

39:17.420 --> 39:19.910
coming down like this were completely

39:19.910 --> 39:22.132
hunched over , we have our ties wrapped

39:22.132 --> 39:24.354
around our faces and now now we know we

39:24.354 --> 39:26.577
can get out and we want to run , I'm in

39:26.577 --> 39:29.540
charge and I said no ,

39:32.520 --> 39:34.140
we

39:37.020 --> 39:39.076
we are going to search these offices

39:39.076 --> 39:42.940
first and we did and we found

39:42.940 --> 39:46.410
people and we got him out from under

39:46.410 --> 39:48.577
the desks and we made our way down the

39:48.577 --> 39:50.688
hall to the construction entrance and

39:50.688 --> 39:52.466
more or less when we got to the

39:52.466 --> 39:52.340
construction entrance , by my

39:52.340 --> 39:54.340
recollection , the building fell in

39:54.340 --> 39:58.220
behind us and uh the part of

39:58.220 --> 40:00.442
what happens outside the building , you

40:00.442 --> 40:02.664
already know . I think that's enough of

40:02.664 --> 40:04.720
my story . I will just tell you that

40:04.720 --> 40:03.940
when we got through the construction

40:03.940 --> 40:07.940
entrance , as silly as the sounds ,

40:08.610 --> 40:12.480
it was only on fire . So not that

40:12.480 --> 40:14.647
bad , as long as you didn't get hit by

40:14.647 --> 40:16.758
the flames or sparks and didn't go up

40:16.758 --> 40:18.869
like a roman candle , you'd be fine .

40:18.869 --> 40:20.758
And I think compared what we went

40:20.758 --> 40:22.924
through on the other side , we more or

40:22.924 --> 40:24.924
less strolled out of their past the

40:24.924 --> 40:26.702
fire and headed to the interior

40:26.702 --> 40:28.758
building until we could find an exit

40:28.758 --> 40:31.670
and that's my story . Thank you Mr hulk .

40:31.680 --> 40:34.520
Um wow , thank you so very much for

40:34.520 --> 40:37.310
sharing your story . Um and you as well .

40:37.310 --> 40:40.020
Miss johnson . Um we have a few

40:40.020 --> 40:42.990
questions from students . Um I am ,

40:43.000 --> 40:46.230
well , first of all um I'm gonna call

40:46.230 --> 40:48.330
on about four or five students who

40:48.330 --> 40:50.490
submitted questions in advance . If

40:50.490 --> 40:52.712
anyone else out there would like to ask

40:52.712 --> 40:55.760
questions , please uh put your

40:55.760 --> 40:57.970
questions in the chat and um we'll get

40:57.970 --> 41:00.026
to them . But we're gonna start with

41:00.026 --> 41:03.520
Miss Isabel Greenberg . Mhm .

41:04.410 --> 41:07.230
Hi , can everyone hear me ? Yes ma'am ,

41:07.910 --> 41:10.450
thank you so much , ma'am . Um firstly

41:10.460 --> 41:12.682
thank you to our esteemed panelists for

41:12.682 --> 41:14.849
this opportunity and for your poignant

41:14.849 --> 41:17.016
insight on this historic anniversary .

41:17.016 --> 41:19.127
My name is Isabel Greenberg and I'm a

41:19.127 --> 41:21.182
sophomore in Georgetown University's

41:21.182 --> 41:23.071
Walsh School of Foreign Service ,

41:23.071 --> 41:25.016
pursuing a degree in international

41:25.016 --> 41:27.182
security . While I was actually born a

41:27.182 --> 41:29.404
few short months after 9-11 , I grew up

41:29.404 --> 41:31.571
in a household that did not understate

41:31.571 --> 41:33.516
the gravity of what our nation and

41:33.516 --> 41:35.849
people had endured . My father was an M .

41:35.849 --> 41:37.960
T . In high school , were worked as a

41:37.960 --> 41:40.016
firefighter in between undergraduate

41:40.016 --> 41:41.960
and medical school and has been an

41:41.960 --> 41:44.016
emergency room physician for over 20

41:44.016 --> 41:46.071
years . My mother worked in a police

41:46.071 --> 41:48.238
station to put herself through college

41:48.238 --> 41:50.293
before coming in . ICU nurse , wow !

41:50.293 --> 41:52.293
The first responders of 9 11 showed

41:52.293 --> 41:54.470
extreme bravery and patriotism in the

41:54.470 --> 41:57.200
face of terror . However the

41:57.200 --> 41:59.422
psychological and physical burdens that

41:59.422 --> 42:01.533
these heroes bear today should not be

42:01.533 --> 42:03.700
underestimated the F . D . N . Y .

42:03.710 --> 42:05.710
World Trade Centre health programme

42:05.710 --> 42:08.740
established by the James Zadroga 9 11

42:08.740 --> 42:11.420
health and compensation act of 2010 Has

42:11.420 --> 42:13.087
provided health care to first

42:13.087 --> 42:15.198
responders with conditions related to

42:15.198 --> 42:17.309
the debris and smoke at ground zero .

42:17.309 --> 42:19.198
However , actually receiving this

42:19.198 --> 42:21.476
funding has historically been a battle ,

42:21.476 --> 42:23.309
whether it be who qualifies as a

42:23.309 --> 42:25.309
beneficiary or new in congressional

42:25.309 --> 42:27.087
funding or the duration of side

42:27.087 --> 42:29.570
benefits As our nation looks to the

42:29.570 --> 42:32.050
next 20 years . What are our continued

42:32.050 --> 42:34.570
moral and civic duties to the survivors

42:34.570 --> 42:36.620
of 9-11 particularly our first

42:36.620 --> 42:39.820
responders . What other hidden battles

42:40.300 --> 42:42.522
do you perceive our nation will have to

42:42.522 --> 42:43.522
fight ?

42:47.500 --> 42:51.480
I'll take a shot . Uh First I don't

42:51.480 --> 42:53.647
think that the fund that you mentioned

42:53.647 --> 42:55.500
actually extends to the first

42:55.500 --> 42:57.611
responders in Washington , D . C . It

42:57.611 --> 42:59.667
was aimed at first responders in new

42:59.667 --> 43:01.889
york . So you have a whole community in

43:01.889 --> 43:03.833
Washington , D . C . Of people who

43:03.833 --> 43:05.889
similarly risked their lives , their

43:05.889 --> 43:08.056
health who have not been compensated .

43:08.090 --> 43:10.760
That's my belief if I'm wrong I would

43:10.760 --> 43:13.080
gladly learn otherwise . So that that

43:13.080 --> 43:15.770
is a a charge that needs to be taken

43:15.770 --> 43:19.760
care of . Secondly , the families of

43:19.770 --> 43:23.000
people who were killed . The next group

43:23.000 --> 43:25.056
that really needs to be looked after

43:25.056 --> 43:27.222
here . And I don't know what the right

43:27.222 --> 43:27.080
solution is to this , but there is

43:27.600 --> 43:29.600
these are people whose parents were

43:29.600 --> 43:31.580
serving their country , cassandra

43:31.580 --> 43:33.802
doctor last minute I we are serving our

43:33.802 --> 43:36.220
country . We're just not in uniform and

43:36.220 --> 43:39.470
that is also valuable service and we go

43:39.470 --> 43:43.300
to great lengths to ensure that , that

43:43.300 --> 43:45.467
the military is well taken care of and

43:45.467 --> 43:47.633
that's appropriate and should happen .

43:47.633 --> 43:49.689
I don't think that civilians for the

43:49.689 --> 43:51.911
most part performing civilian duties in

43:51.911 --> 43:54.189
the pentagon don't need that extra pay ,

43:54.189 --> 43:56.356
hazard pay and stuff like that . But I

43:56.356 --> 43:56.300
do think when civilians are subjected

43:56.300 --> 43:58.411
to something like this and they lived

43:58.411 --> 44:00.522
through an experience like this , the

44:00.522 --> 44:03.050
congress really should consider , um ,

44:03.060 --> 44:06.840
a second level of compensation to help

44:06.840 --> 44:09.118
the families , not only those who live ,

44:09.118 --> 44:11.510
but those who didn't live have a longer

44:11.510 --> 44:15.230
term , um , financial and health care

44:15.230 --> 44:17.286
cushion to that . I'm very worried .

44:17.286 --> 44:19.119
For example , what the long term

44:19.119 --> 44:21.230
effects of having a brain injury will

44:21.230 --> 44:23.452
be . Um , I don't know what that , what

44:23.452 --> 44:25.563
that will look like , but if it turns

44:25.563 --> 44:27.619
ugly , I don't want that to be , nor

44:27.619 --> 44:29.841
should it be my wife's burden because I

44:29.841 --> 44:32.063
was serving the United States when that

44:32.063 --> 44:31.300
happened to me and I'm not making a

44:31.300 --> 44:33.356
claim , I'm simply raising the issue

44:33.790 --> 44:35.901
and then the last thing and I'll turn

44:35.901 --> 44:37.957
it over to my colleagues here . Um ,

44:42.490 --> 44:44.250
there is a generation ,

44:49.690 --> 44:52.810
a generation of people who are serving

44:54.090 --> 44:57.430
since then in uniform and we just

44:57.430 --> 45:00.470
concluded a long war , they're going to

45:00.470 --> 45:04.260
need help too . And we need to figure

45:04.260 --> 45:07.920
out how to not just money , but how to

45:07.920 --> 45:10.087
make decisions about putting people in

45:10.087 --> 45:12.198
harm's way , what the value is , what

45:12.198 --> 45:14.420
the objectives are , how much they need

45:14.420 --> 45:16.476
to be communicated to the people who

45:16.476 --> 45:18.531
are taking those risks and make that

45:18.531 --> 45:20.753
part of a national conversation because

45:20.753 --> 45:23.170
you can see when this war wound up , it

45:23.170 --> 45:25.392
was not a high degree of satisfaction ,

45:25.392 --> 45:27.003
but for the record , I'm not

45:27.003 --> 45:29.003
criticizing the decision to leave .

45:29.090 --> 45:31.423
Nobody asked . But I'll tell you anyway ,

45:31.423 --> 45:33.440
I support the decision to leave . I

45:33.440 --> 45:35.662
don't think we should be fighting for a

45:35.662 --> 45:37.773
country that won't fight for itself .

45:37.773 --> 45:39.996
So as a practical matter , that's how I

45:39.996 --> 45:42.210
see the issues turn it to you .

45:44.890 --> 45:48.360
I really don't have anything more to

45:48.360 --> 45:52.280
add to what bobby just said . I think

45:52.290 --> 45:55.190
the important thing is that we don't

45:55.190 --> 45:58.950
forget we remember the sacrifices ,

45:58.960 --> 46:02.410
be they civilians or military . Um

46:02.980 --> 46:06.870
and I know it's been very tough for the

46:06.870 --> 46:09.470
folks who are associated with the

46:09.470 --> 46:12.900
military today that were , you know ,

46:13.480 --> 46:15.702
affected by Afghanistan and that's been

46:15.702 --> 46:17.869
a very big issue within the Department

46:17.869 --> 46:20.980
of Defense to make sure that um the

46:20.980 --> 46:24.880
veterans who fought in Iraq and

46:24.890 --> 46:28.760
clearly Afghanistan appreciate the

46:28.760 --> 46:30.982
fact that the american people hopefully

46:30.982 --> 46:33.810
are thankful for their sacrifices . And

46:33.810 --> 46:35.643
again , as bobby said a national

46:35.643 --> 46:38.360
conversation because um it's the , it's

46:38.360 --> 46:40.471
the , it's the mental scars , there's

46:40.471 --> 46:43.950
the physical scars and I remember

46:43.960 --> 46:46.220
coming into the pentagon many a day

46:46.220 --> 46:49.350
where our heroes were honored from the

46:49.350 --> 46:51.239
folks who came back from Iraq and

46:51.239 --> 46:54.830
Afghanistan and we had like

46:54.850 --> 46:58.060
pep sessions to have them come by in

46:58.060 --> 47:01.720
our corridors and be cheered and and

47:01.730 --> 47:04.480
honored . Um , but it's those

47:04.480 --> 47:07.680
psychological scars that have to be

47:07.680 --> 47:11.500
healed as well . So everybody

47:11.500 --> 47:14.000
deserves that , that kind of vote of

47:14.000 --> 47:16.730
confidence and support . Um and I

47:16.740 --> 47:18.851
appreciate your your question because

47:18.851 --> 47:21.880
it's a good one . And uh this will not

47:21.890 --> 47:24.180
be the last time we were here , about 9

47:24.180 --> 47:26.347
11 . This is not the last time we will

47:26.347 --> 47:28.070
hear about Afghanistan type of

47:28.070 --> 47:30.920
situation . So it's the nature of our

47:30.920 --> 47:34.860
business . And again civilians Need

47:34.860 --> 47:37.360
to be remembered and that's why we call

47:37.360 --> 47:39.950
them heroes and that's what we're doing

47:39.950 --> 47:43.460
tomorrow in honor of one Of those

47:43.460 --> 47:46.720
187 heroes . They were innocence . They

47:46.720 --> 47:49.880
did nothing but just go about their

47:49.880 --> 47:52.990
business and they became victims .

47:56.080 --> 47:59.620
Thank you so much Miss johnson and uh

47:59.630 --> 48:01.574
Isabelle , thank you for the great

48:01.574 --> 48:03.574
question . I am going to go next to

48:03.574 --> 48:05.600
carl Chandler School of Law George

48:05.600 --> 48:08.590
mason University carol . Are you there ?

48:09.570 --> 48:12.320
Yes ma'am , can you hear me ? Yes sir .

48:15.970 --> 48:18.081
Well thank you so much for all of our

48:18.081 --> 48:20.170
panelists sharing their insight . I

48:20.180 --> 48:22.320
think that's a truly remarkable story

48:22.330 --> 48:24.530
um from from all viewpoints , a little

48:24.530 --> 48:26.419
background on me . I grew up in a

48:26.419 --> 48:28.252
military family , my family have

48:28.252 --> 48:30.474
stationed here in D . C . My dad worked

48:30.474 --> 48:29.870
at the pentagon , but we actually

48:29.870 --> 48:32.250
happened to pcs down the langley about

48:32.250 --> 48:34.028
three months before the attacks

48:34.028 --> 48:36.250
themselves right now . I've lived right

48:36.250 --> 48:38.472
up the street on South Gate boulevard ,

48:38.472 --> 48:40.417
um I'm an Air force veteran myself

48:40.417 --> 48:42.528
served seven years And one thing that

48:42.528 --> 48:44.694
really struck me when listening to the

48:44.694 --> 48:46.980
panel was that I had a chief who served

48:46.980 --> 48:49.250
under me when I was down in San Antonio

48:49.260 --> 48:51.980
who'd you going ? Right after the

48:51.980 --> 48:54.280
September 11 attacks ? And then I

48:54.280 --> 48:58.150
watched him in 2019 send his oldest

48:58.150 --> 49:00.440
son who hadn't been born at the time of

49:00.440 --> 49:04.190
the 2000 2001 attacks off on his first

49:04.370 --> 49:06.537
employment also as a member of the Air

49:06.537 --> 49:08.703
Force . So my question to the panel is

49:08.703 --> 49:09.703
how have you seen

49:12.270 --> 49:15.150
who served during the time 20 years ago

49:15.160 --> 49:17.382
of the september 11th attack and coming

49:17.382 --> 49:19.493
out of the conclusion of the long war

49:19.493 --> 49:21.810
that we've seen in Afghanistan . Have

49:21.810 --> 49:23.921
you witnessed a change in the town or

49:23.921 --> 49:26.088
or attitude of service members who may

49:26.088 --> 49:28.143
not have been born on september 11th

49:28.143 --> 49:30.310
2001 and yet have joined in on the war

49:30.310 --> 49:32.740
on terror and how that's affected

49:32.750 --> 49:34.917
different components of our service as

49:34.917 --> 49:37.250
we move into sort of a new era of U . S .

49:37.250 --> 49:39.361
Military operations ? That's my first

49:39.361 --> 49:41.583
question and then follow up question if

49:41.583 --> 49:43.917
you have all the time to speak about it ,

49:43.917 --> 49:46.028
what would you say to a young three l

49:46.028 --> 49:48.139
who's searching for a post law school

49:48.139 --> 49:50.370
employment who says I'd really like to

49:50.370 --> 49:53.570
continue serving in some manner in the

49:53.570 --> 49:55.348
civilian world and use my legal

49:55.348 --> 49:57.810
education in that capacity .

50:01.240 --> 50:03.462
So those are my questions . Thank you .

50:03.960 --> 50:07.060
Um Well with regarding and I have to ,

50:07.060 --> 50:08.838
I have a bias with George mason

50:08.838 --> 50:10.893
University law School because my son

50:10.893 --> 50:12.949
graduated from here about five years

50:12.949 --> 50:15.171
ago now and , and very proud of him and

50:15.171 --> 50:17.580
education . He got there . Um ,

50:18.760 --> 50:22.600
uh , the , the generation today , there

50:22.600 --> 50:24.433
were , there were many general ,

50:24.433 --> 50:26.820
several five minutes . Okay . There

50:26.820 --> 50:29.042
were , there were a lot of people who ,

50:29.042 --> 50:31.630
who did join the military as soon as 9

50:31.630 --> 50:34.000
11 hit literally the next day they

50:34.010 --> 50:37.430
joined up and that sense of patriotism

50:37.440 --> 50:40.580
is what keeps this country going .

50:41.160 --> 50:44.730
And I , I am saddened that there aren't

50:44.740 --> 50:47.520
more people who are signing up to be

50:47.530 --> 50:50.480
able to take on that mantle

50:51.560 --> 50:53.930
and to feel that they are doing their

50:53.930 --> 50:56.270
public service by serving their country

50:56.330 --> 50:59.640
in that fashion . Um , we have many

50:59.640 --> 51:01.990
members of Congress who have had no

51:01.990 --> 51:03.990
military experience and that is an

51:03.990 --> 51:06.480
experience that you just don't get

51:06.860 --> 51:08.693
Unless you've either been in the

51:08.693 --> 51:10.638
military or you've been around the

51:10.638 --> 51:12.416
military . I've had no military

51:12.416 --> 51:14.527
experience , but I've been around the

51:14.527 --> 51:16.304
military for almost 42 years of

51:16.304 --> 51:18.750
civilian and you feel the community and

51:18.750 --> 51:22.250
the support . So I think

51:22.260 --> 51:26.040
now today's servicemen and women who

51:26.040 --> 51:30.020
are serving are making that commitment

51:30.030 --> 51:32.086
and are keeping true to it . And I'm

51:32.086 --> 51:34.252
thankful that we have people like that

51:34.252 --> 51:36.363
who who make that commitment and take

51:36.363 --> 51:40.270
it on . Um , continue that

51:41.560 --> 51:44.740
question . Two apply to service .

51:44.740 --> 51:47.580
General council offices .

51:48.460 --> 51:51.460
Yes sir . Thank you . I had a 120

51:51.460 --> 51:53.127
people as the council for the

51:53.127 --> 51:55.390
commandant turnover is high because the

51:55.390 --> 51:57.446
jobs are tough and the opportunities

51:57.446 --> 52:00.050
out of those jobs are significant . So

52:00.060 --> 52:02.282
you know , I'm sure the army would love

52:02.282 --> 52:04.449
to have you , the Air force would love

52:04.449 --> 52:06.449
to have you the navy , but the hell

52:06.449 --> 52:08.616
with them right to the council for the

52:08.616 --> 52:10.770
common on and saying wait .

52:11.150 --> 52:15.020
And the services do really

52:15.020 --> 52:17.570
hire a lot of former military people

52:17.570 --> 52:20.410
jags because they have an incredible

52:20.410 --> 52:22.354
professional development that they

52:22.354 --> 52:25.620
undergo and and they just can deal with

52:25.620 --> 52:29.160
many situations uh immediately and and

52:29.160 --> 52:31.271
they're right on the ground running .

52:31.271 --> 52:34.750
So D . O . D . Is a great place to be

52:34.750 --> 52:37.070
able to um to use your talents .

52:38.570 --> 52:41.340
Great Carlos , Thank you so much for

52:41.340 --> 52:43.470
your question . Um just real quickly

52:43.470 --> 52:45.590
because we started a little late , we

52:45.590 --> 52:49.340
can go another 10 to 15 minutes . Um I

52:49.340 --> 52:51.650
do want to make sure we get to our last

52:51.650 --> 52:54.450
two questions . Um Okay and so we're

52:54.450 --> 52:57.420
going next to Matthew's Gross Elliott

52:57.420 --> 52:59.309
School of International Affairs ,

52:59.309 --> 53:01.590
George Washington University . Uh

53:01.600 --> 53:05.050
Elliot , are you there ? Yes ma'am . I

53:05.050 --> 53:07.161
am great . Hear me . Okay . Yes sir .

53:07.161 --> 53:10.960
Thank you . Okay , good . Um thank you

53:10.970 --> 53:13.480
to the panelists . Thank you for

53:13.480 --> 53:15.647
sharing your stories and also for your

53:15.647 --> 53:18.060
service to our country . Um it's very

53:18.060 --> 53:20.890
much appreciated . Um so , so I guess

53:20.890 --> 53:23.300
my question is I was five years old

53:23.310 --> 53:25.532
when , when september 11th happened and

53:25.532 --> 53:28.420
I have very fuzzy and faint memories of

53:28.420 --> 53:30.642
the day , but they are , they are still

53:30.642 --> 53:34.120
there . Um , and I faced , my question

53:34.120 --> 53:36.480
is I'm sure many of the students on

53:36.480 --> 53:38.770
this call are either already or are

53:38.780 --> 53:42.250
pursuing um either military or civilian

53:42.260 --> 53:44.316
federal service . Uh and I wanted to

53:44.316 --> 53:47.010
ask you , how would you like Us to

53:47.020 --> 53:49.520
carry on the memory of September 11 of

53:49.520 --> 53:51.742
those who were there and those who lost

53:51.742 --> 53:53.576
their lives in our future work .

53:56.150 --> 53:59.750
So very early on after all this

53:59.750 --> 54:02.430
happened , there was talk about having

54:02.430 --> 54:05.760
a a day off another federal holiday

54:05.760 --> 54:07.982
established as a point of remembrance .

54:07.982 --> 54:10.093
I remember having a visceral reaction

54:10.093 --> 54:12.260
to that . And it remains to this day .

54:12.340 --> 54:14.562
I think the best way to remember people

54:14.562 --> 54:16.673
who are going about their day , daily

54:16.673 --> 54:18.618
lives working hard at their jobs ,

54:18.618 --> 54:20.673
civilians in this building , some on

54:20.673 --> 54:23.490
the plane who sacrificed knowing they

54:23.490 --> 54:25.712
were taking a risk when they took these

54:25.712 --> 54:27.768
jobs , but never thinking it was the

54:27.768 --> 54:30.101
war was going to come home to Arlington .

54:30.101 --> 54:29.990
I think the best way to do that is to

54:29.990 --> 54:33.610
come to work on September 11 and and

54:33.620 --> 54:37.070
put in some extra effort that would do

54:37.070 --> 54:40.710
it for me , what would do it for me is

54:40.710 --> 54:42.890
is that the fact that you all are

54:42.890 --> 54:45.830
participating in the exact kind of

54:45.830 --> 54:49.490
event that keeps it in everyone's

54:49.490 --> 54:52.720
memory because unless you've been

54:52.720 --> 54:55.420
impacted in some direct way whether you

54:55.420 --> 54:58.670
lost someone that you knew you loved ,

54:59.040 --> 55:02.450
you know or you were there , You're

55:02.450 --> 55:04.339
just not going to appreciate what

55:04.339 --> 55:06.960
happened that day . Our innocence is

55:06.960 --> 55:09.360
gone . It's almost like we're reliving

55:09.360 --> 55:12.560
Pearl Harbor and you have to remember

55:12.560 --> 55:14.910
it . And I think with the observances

55:14.910 --> 55:17.570
which there are many around the country ,

55:17.580 --> 55:19.802
especially in this area . Like I said ,

55:19.802 --> 55:21.969
I encourage you to go to Shanksville .

55:21.969 --> 55:24.360
It's almost the forgotten site because

55:24.360 --> 55:26.582
if it hadn't have been for those heroes

55:26.582 --> 55:29.660
who got that plane right into the

55:29.660 --> 55:33.060
ground and smashed into obliteration ,

55:33.640 --> 55:36.920
that plane clearly we know was destined

55:36.920 --> 55:40.620
for Washington D . C . So I think

55:40.620 --> 55:44.420
about that every day and um , that ,

55:44.420 --> 55:46.531
that was a major sacrifice because by

55:46.531 --> 55:48.670
then they New World Trade Center

55:49.040 --> 55:52.230
collapsed pentagon . The world's

55:52.230 --> 55:54.380
strongest military couldn't stop the

55:54.380 --> 55:57.950
plane and it was up to them to not

55:57.960 --> 56:01.100
let that happen to any other people .

56:01.100 --> 56:04.720
But , and like became for me being in

56:04.720 --> 56:07.250
the pentagon , the let's roll .

56:08.630 --> 56:10.852
That's what they decided . And when you

56:10.852 --> 56:13.250
go to Shanksville , you appreciate what

56:13.260 --> 56:16.120
they did . They took a vote on the

56:16.120 --> 56:20.050
plane . Are we ready to unite

56:20.060 --> 56:22.890
and take this plane down on our terms ,

56:22.900 --> 56:26.460
not theirs . And that just resonates .

56:26.850 --> 56:30.650
So that's , You know , really

56:30.650 --> 56:33.410
the three sites that we have to think

56:33.410 --> 56:34.460
about every day .

56:37.130 --> 56:40.610
Thank you . Thank you Miss johnson , uh ,

56:40.620 --> 56:43.290
Andrew Tobin from uh Walsh School of

56:43.290 --> 56:45.620
Foreign Service Georgetown University

56:45.630 --> 56:48.480
Andrew , are you with us ? Yes . Can

56:48.480 --> 56:50.970
you hear me ? We can thank you for

56:50.970 --> 56:53.110
joining us . Thank you very much for

56:53.110 --> 56:55.166
the opportunity man and thank you to

56:55.166 --> 56:57.388
our panelists for speaking with us this

56:57.388 --> 56:59.277
afternoon . Uh So I'm a senior in

56:59.277 --> 57:01.332
Georgetown School of Foreign Service

57:01.332 --> 57:03.666
studying terrorism and subsidy violence .

57:03.666 --> 57:05.888
Uh I grew up in Northern New Jersey and

57:05.888 --> 57:07.943
my father worked in new york city uh

57:07.943 --> 57:07.850
and I was only one year old at the time

57:07.850 --> 57:10.183
of the september 11th attacks . However ,

57:10.183 --> 57:12.406
I learned about them all growing up and

57:12.406 --> 57:14.406
really inspired me to get into this

57:14.406 --> 57:16.406
field . Uh So I was just curious in

57:16.406 --> 57:18.572
your perspectives , what were the days

57:18.572 --> 57:20.794
following the attacks ? Like going back

57:20.794 --> 57:22.961
to work ? Uh kind of getting back into

57:22.961 --> 57:22.840
the rhythm of uh working for the

57:22.840 --> 57:25.110
pentagon department defense after the

57:25.110 --> 57:28.890
attacks . I two quick

57:28.890 --> 57:32.700
personal stories when I found out that

57:32.710 --> 57:36.520
um Ernie was killed at ground zero ,

57:36.530 --> 57:38.770
I immediately called my supervisor and

57:38.770 --> 57:40.881
I said I just got a call from Shirley

57:40.881 --> 57:44.760
Wilshire and he said I want you to

57:44.770 --> 57:48.570
go to spend the next day with surely

57:49.030 --> 57:52.990
and be with her and her family . And

57:52.990 --> 57:55.640
I'm like I wouldn't want to be anywhere

57:55.640 --> 57:59.500
else . And we talked about

57:59.500 --> 58:02.840
Ernie and It was amazing

58:02.840 --> 58:06.120
because this is a guy who was just your

58:06.130 --> 58:08.820
average Joe . He wore a pair of gray

58:08.820 --> 58:11.920
pants , white shirt , thick tie , that

58:11.920 --> 58:14.930
was like 1950s out of style and a navy

58:14.930 --> 58:16.819
blue jacket and he'd take off his

58:16.819 --> 58:18.708
blazer at night . He'd put on his

58:18.708 --> 58:20.874
little Peters jacket if you remember a

58:20.874 --> 58:23.097
little zip up thing and he'd walk out .

58:24.120 --> 58:27.360
Um He bought three new suits

58:28.620 --> 58:30.890
to begin his career as a , as a

58:30.890 --> 58:33.920
consultant and he wore his first suit

58:33.930 --> 58:37.140
into the building that day . Um

58:37.820 --> 58:40.580
That's a memory I have right after

58:41.620 --> 58:43.880
the next day I came into the building

58:43.890 --> 58:46.057
because the first thing they had to do

58:46.057 --> 58:48.223
was to make sure they could secure the

58:48.223 --> 58:50.446
building was that structurally sound so

58:50.446 --> 58:52.501
people could return and if their and

58:52.501 --> 58:52.020
there were parts of the building that

58:52.020 --> 58:54.242
we're not and the engineers had to come

58:54.242 --> 58:56.470
in and literally okay , section by

58:56.470 --> 58:58.830
section of the pentagon . So our

58:58.830 --> 59:01.500
section was cleared uh physically were

59:01.500 --> 59:03.700
on the 7th corridor , about half a

59:03.700 --> 59:05.811
football field away from the impact ,

59:05.820 --> 59:08.330
but we did not sustain any structural

59:08.330 --> 59:12.270
damage . And I vividly remember uh

59:12.280 --> 59:14.910
every lawyer back then , we all dealt

59:14.910 --> 59:17.077
with books . You know , we didn't have

59:17.077 --> 59:19.021
the internet and all that research

59:19.021 --> 59:21.090
stuff . I had all of Ernie's . I was

59:21.090 --> 59:23.312
surrounded by Ernie's law books . I was

59:23.312 --> 59:25.790
surrounded by title Fives , Title 10

59:25.800 --> 59:28.150
Behind me . I had like 30 volumes of

59:28.150 --> 59:30.710
stuff in my office . And I remember I

59:30.710 --> 59:32.821
had to research something immediately

59:32.821 --> 59:35.043
which dealt with civilian personnel law

59:35.043 --> 59:37.250
and what do you do In the particular ,

59:37.250 --> 59:40.670
9 11 situation . I remember turning And

59:40.670 --> 59:43.880
reaching for Title five , which is for

59:43.880 --> 59:46.410
federal employees , Title five . And as

59:46.410 --> 59:49.180
I was reaching for the book , I'm not

59:49.180 --> 59:52.680
exaggerating , there was a force

59:53.420 --> 59:55.750
that kept my hand from touching that

59:55.750 --> 59:59.190
book and the harder I pushed my hand to

59:59.190 --> 01:00:01.530
touch the book . I couldn't

01:00:02.510 --> 01:00:05.970
and it was weird . It was

01:00:05.970 --> 01:00:08.130
bizarre , but it was real .

01:00:09.550 --> 01:00:13.060
You cannot appreciate the

01:00:13.060 --> 01:00:16.550
power of love and

01:00:16.550 --> 01:00:19.780
affection and just something would not

01:00:19.780 --> 01:00:21.891
let me touch that book and that to me

01:00:21.891 --> 01:00:25.160
was you can laugh

01:00:25.170 --> 01:00:28.530
but Ernie speaking to me

01:00:28.540 --> 01:00:31.930
that this was his life and I

01:00:32.510 --> 01:00:34.940
and there to kind of transmit it on .

01:00:35.810 --> 01:00:38.850
And so um that's what it was like for

01:00:38.850 --> 01:00:41.230
me and my parents were extremely

01:00:41.240 --> 01:00:44.390
excited to , they greeted me

01:00:44.400 --> 01:00:47.170
after a few hours , they came in greek

01:00:47.170 --> 01:00:49.337
family , they came in with enough food

01:00:49.337 --> 01:00:51.392
to feed an army . They had gone to a

01:00:51.392 --> 01:00:53.503
greek restaurant . It was a happy day

01:00:53.503 --> 01:00:55.614
to know that their daughter was alive

01:00:55.614 --> 01:00:59.260
and it and we were all numb in in our

01:00:59.260 --> 01:01:02.660
own ways . But I had the extreme

01:01:02.660 --> 01:01:05.430
high and I had the extreme low that day

01:01:05.910 --> 01:01:07.410
and for days that followed

01:01:09.910 --> 01:01:12.370
a little bit stranger for me . I didn't

01:01:12.370 --> 01:01:15.530
have an office to go back to just the

01:01:15.530 --> 01:01:17.641
way it worked out . I got a call that

01:01:17.641 --> 01:01:19.808
night from the Marine Corps Operations

01:01:19.808 --> 01:01:22.030
Center . Your ear drums have been blown

01:01:22.030 --> 01:01:24.252
out . I couldn't talk on the phone , my

01:01:24.252 --> 01:01:24.070
wife was handling it and although

01:01:24.070 --> 01:01:26.780
you're all too young for this . Watch

01:01:26.780 --> 01:01:28.836
the panel members when I say she was

01:01:28.836 --> 01:01:31.169
given me the Garrett Morris news report ,

01:01:31.610 --> 01:01:34.290
it's your mother , you know . Anyway ,

01:01:34.300 --> 01:01:36.940
11 30 at night the phone rings and she

01:01:36.940 --> 01:01:39.280
says it's the Marine Corps Operations

01:01:39.280 --> 01:01:41.280
Center . I said , well what do they

01:01:41.280 --> 01:01:43.560
want comment on wants to see you six

01:01:43.560 --> 01:01:47.440
a.m. Tomorrow . Okay . Where

01:01:49.210 --> 01:01:51.321
she talked ? She talks , she puts the

01:01:51.321 --> 01:01:53.432
phone down . She turns around and she

01:01:53.432 --> 01:01:55.432
says pentagon . I said the pentagon

01:01:55.432 --> 01:01:57.654
stone fire . She said the gun . He says

01:01:57.654 --> 01:02:00.000
welcome to the Marine Corps . So I got

01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:02.450
up at four AM and slogged it up 95

01:02:02.450 --> 01:02:04.394
which was closed . Uh , there were

01:02:04.394 --> 01:02:06.506
three state trooper checkpoints and I

01:02:06.506 --> 01:02:08.228
had to talk my way through the

01:02:08.228 --> 01:02:09.950
checkpoints with this horrible

01:02:09.950 --> 01:02:12.006
concussion . And at that point I was

01:02:12.006 --> 01:02:14.117
having really bad episodes of vertigo

01:02:14.117 --> 01:02:16.061
because of that damage . And I was

01:02:16.061 --> 01:02:18.061
having a hard time sitting up . I'd

01:02:18.061 --> 01:02:20.283
probably look drunk , but I had all the

01:02:20.283 --> 01:02:20.240
right passes and I talked my way

01:02:20.240 --> 01:02:22.129
through those things . Got to the

01:02:22.129 --> 01:02:24.018
pentagon and the senior staff had

01:02:24.018 --> 01:02:27.040
gathered outside the pit and it took us

01:02:27.040 --> 01:02:29.207
a little while to figure out well this

01:02:29.207 --> 01:02:31.207
isn't going to work . So we went to

01:02:31.207 --> 01:02:33.373
work at the Navy annex , which is just

01:02:33.373 --> 01:02:37.020
up the hill and I had , it's a strange

01:02:37.020 --> 01:02:39.020
honor but the honor of being in the

01:02:39.020 --> 01:02:42.460
room when the commandant came in with

01:02:42.460 --> 01:02:44.880
the CNO in a very big conference room ,

01:02:44.890 --> 01:02:48.000
probably 50 75 people in their senior

01:02:48.000 --> 01:02:51.550
officers and civilians waiting for this

01:02:51.550 --> 01:02:54.810
meeting to occur set for seven a.m. The

01:02:54.810 --> 01:02:56.754
Navy had taken a direct hit . Navy

01:02:56.754 --> 01:02:58.699
Operations Center was on the first

01:02:58.699 --> 01:03:00.699
floor and we knew that the Navy was

01:03:00.699 --> 01:03:02.921
gonna lose people , we didn't know what

01:03:02.921 --> 01:03:04.866
the number was . And when the door

01:03:04.866 --> 01:03:07.580
opened and the protocol is , four star

01:03:07.580 --> 01:03:09.691
comes in room , you get up , you snap

01:03:09.691 --> 01:03:11.969
to attention even if you're a civilian ,

01:03:12.200 --> 01:03:14.830
I did my best when the door opened in

01:03:14.830 --> 01:03:17.670
the comment and seeing , okay man and

01:03:17.680 --> 01:03:19.902
the cno walked to the head of the table

01:03:19.902 --> 01:03:22.530
and slammed his folio on the table and

01:03:22.530 --> 01:03:25.700
said , I want to know who did this and

01:03:25.700 --> 01:03:27.644
I want to know what we're gonna do

01:03:27.644 --> 01:03:30.990
about it . Yeah , that's what the next

01:03:30.990 --> 01:03:33.212
day was like . And every day after that

01:03:33.700 --> 01:03:35.533
people came to work in a burning

01:03:35.533 --> 01:03:38.930
building to make sure it got done . So

01:03:39.300 --> 01:03:41.610
that's public service . That means

01:03:41.610 --> 01:03:44.540
something and I challenge each of you

01:03:44.540 --> 01:03:46.707
to find something meaningful enough in

01:03:46.707 --> 01:03:48.929
your lives that you would go to work in

01:03:48.929 --> 01:03:51.151
a burning building to make sure it gets

01:03:51.151 --> 01:03:54.680
done . Mm . Great .

01:03:54.690 --> 01:03:57.490
Thank you so much for that question .

01:03:57.500 --> 01:04:00.100
Um , our final question goes to Nick .

01:04:00.110 --> 01:04:02.910
Um , as Illini um , school of public

01:04:02.910 --> 01:04:06.050
policy at Georgetown nick are you ? So

01:04:06.050 --> 01:04:09.950
what ? That's , Yeah . Yes , I'm still

01:04:09.950 --> 01:04:12.410
here . Thank you and really not not as

01:04:12.410 --> 01:04:14.730
much of a question . More of a comment .

01:04:14.740 --> 01:04:16.907
I just wanted to again , thank all the

01:04:16.907 --> 01:04:19.073
panelists like everyone else and , and

01:04:19.073 --> 01:04:21.730
just , and just to reinforce , I know

01:04:21.740 --> 01:04:23.907
you know , the best way to continue to

01:04:23.907 --> 01:04:26.920
remember is just continue to serve . Um ,

01:04:26.930 --> 01:04:29.110
I just wanted an opportunity to thank

01:04:29.120 --> 01:04:31.500
um you know , everyone here then

01:04:31.500 --> 01:04:34.630
everyone duty civilians , Active duty

01:04:34.630 --> 01:04:37.180
military uh that 9 11 , even though I

01:04:37.180 --> 01:04:40.550
was young , my father was in New york

01:04:40.550 --> 01:04:43.270
city at the time . Uh and it was the

01:04:43.270 --> 01:04:45.730
single most important event that

01:04:45.740 --> 01:04:48.380
inspired me to serve and and still

01:04:48.380 --> 01:04:50.380
today keeps me serving because it's

01:04:50.380 --> 01:04:52.491
always a constant reminder that there

01:04:52.491 --> 01:04:54.491
are enemies who want to destroy the

01:04:54.491 --> 01:04:56.491
United States and there needs to be

01:04:56.491 --> 01:04:58.324
people to stand up and serve and

01:04:58.324 --> 01:05:00.547
protect . So that's really all I wanted

01:05:00.547 --> 01:05:02.980
to say , thank you very much . Great ,

01:05:02.990 --> 01:05:06.670
thank you nick , nick , that's not over

01:05:06.670 --> 01:05:09.580
yet . Right ? There are people out

01:05:09.580 --> 01:05:11.524
there who want to kill you because

01:05:11.524 --> 01:05:13.469
you're american . We got to see it

01:05:13.469 --> 01:05:15.920
first hand here , that is not over yet .

01:05:16.590 --> 01:05:19.090
And we'll be off this stage me sooner

01:05:19.090 --> 01:05:21.034
than cassandra cause she's so much

01:05:21.034 --> 01:05:23.257
younger than me , but we'll be off this

01:05:23.257 --> 01:05:25.257
stage and people like us will be in

01:05:25.257 --> 01:05:27.312
these jobs and there might be people

01:05:27.312 --> 01:05:29.534
like you don't forget that and don't be

01:05:29.534 --> 01:05:32.350
naive do not underestimate . And that

01:05:32.350 --> 01:05:34.406
was one thing I remember learning is

01:05:34.406 --> 01:05:36.628
like how could that happen ? You know ,

01:05:36.628 --> 01:05:38.794
it's like , and they said , well , you

01:05:38.794 --> 01:05:40.906
know , you plan for contingencies and

01:05:40.906 --> 01:05:43.100
plan A and Plan B and Plan C . and

01:05:43.100 --> 01:05:46.290
these terrorists in 9 11 , 20 years ago

01:05:46.350 --> 01:05:48.610
they did the

01:05:49.590 --> 01:05:51.960
unthinkable and what we just couldn't

01:05:51.960 --> 01:05:54.190
figure out . And the sad thing was

01:05:54.200 --> 01:05:57.990
there were so many little pieces and

01:05:57.990 --> 01:06:00.930
warnings that nobody could connect the

01:06:00.930 --> 01:06:04.070
dots and say oh my God this is what's

01:06:04.070 --> 01:06:07.370
happening red alert . So hopefully now

01:06:07.370 --> 01:06:09.980
we've learned that you work together ,

01:06:09.990 --> 01:06:13.450
it's a team , the expertise is there

01:06:13.460 --> 01:06:16.430
and we've got to get keep keep the rice

01:06:16.430 --> 01:06:19.600
bowls out and the stove pipes and

01:06:20.180 --> 01:06:23.840
cross fertilize with our intel .

01:06:25.480 --> 01:06:28.670
Thank you very much . Team . That's

01:06:28.670 --> 01:06:31.700
about all we have for today . I want to

01:06:31.700 --> 01:06:34.000
thank you all for taking the time out

01:06:34.010 --> 01:06:36.590
of your schedules to uh spend some time

01:06:36.590 --> 01:06:39.050
with with us . This is a part of our

01:06:39.050 --> 01:06:41.360
healing process as well . Um We get to

01:06:41.360 --> 01:06:44.950
tell our stories and um but it helps us

01:06:44.950 --> 01:06:47.470
heal because um we're able to educate

01:06:47.470 --> 01:06:49.303
the younger generation . I think

01:06:49.303 --> 01:06:51.526
somebody said they were four months old

01:06:51.526 --> 01:06:54.200
when 9 11 happened . Um One person said

01:06:54.200 --> 01:06:57.920
they were five uh you know uh the

01:06:57.920 --> 01:07:01.280
pentagon survivors . Um we're most most

01:07:01.280 --> 01:07:03.600
of us are close to retirement age . So

01:07:03.610 --> 01:07:06.460
um we want to tell these stories as

01:07:06.460 --> 01:07:09.100
much as possible . Um I want to thank

01:07:09.100 --> 01:07:12.960
dr Lastman and MS Johnson and

01:07:12.960 --> 01:07:15.780
mr whole thank you so very much for

01:07:15.780 --> 01:07:17.960
taking time out of your busy schedule

01:07:17.970 --> 01:07:20.410
uh to be with us to tell the story .

01:07:20.420 --> 01:07:23.020
And then finally I want to thank on my

01:07:23.020 --> 01:07:26.140
team . Mr john is in Evanston . He's

01:07:26.140 --> 01:07:29.700
the individual um that connected you to

01:07:29.710 --> 01:07:33.030
these pentagon survivors into R . D . D .

01:07:33.030 --> 01:07:35.470
O . D . Historian . So with that

01:07:35.480 --> 01:07:38.570
everybody thank you again , um , reach

01:07:38.570 --> 01:07:40.459
out to us . If you have any other

01:07:40.459 --> 01:07:42.570
questions , Jonathan will be reaching

01:07:42.570 --> 01:07:44.626
out to your schools again . Um , for

01:07:44.626 --> 01:07:46.848
some other opportunities I'm related to

01:07:46.848 --> 01:07:49.070
9.11 . Thank you . And everybody have a

01:07:49.070 --> 01:07:51.100
good day . Bye bye .