by The Husband
Maryland, USA
It began as many mornings do, far too early and far too dark. I slipped out of bed, anxious to shower and leave without waking my wife and baby. These early mornings were necessary to beat the traffic through Baltimore and D.C. into northern Virginia.
That day, September 11, 2001, I had a meeting in Alexandria, Virginia, about a mile from the Pentagon. It was in a windowed corner office on the 10th floor with spectacular views of the Pentagon. We were close enough to hear and feel the massive explosion at 9:38 a.m.
Thick black smoke rose from the Pentagon. The Army officers present acted quickly to begin securing their area and locating their people, many of whom attended daily meetings at the Pentagon. They gave orders, and their resoluteness calmed everyone present. Clearly, they would remain on the job until everyone was accounted for. My group decided to head north, past guards stationed at government buildings, to our home base. Highways were at a standstill, so we headed west toward the D.C. beltway.
I tried in vain to call home to let my wife know I was OK, but cellular phone service was jammed. The previous day, I had told her I was headed to D.C. in the morning to brief a general. I hadn’t specified where I would be.
As my wife changed our daughter’s diaper, her sister called to say the Pentagon had been attacked. Naturally, she feared the worst and assumed I had been there. Her fears were justified, because on September 6, 2001, I had been sitting 400 feet (120 meters) from the point where the plane crashed.
Because I left before my wife woke, she didn’t even know what I was wearing or whether I had driven our car or a government vehicle. With no information and unable to call me, my wife managed to contact friends from one of my previous assignments, pleading for help to find me.
For hours while I was out of contact, these people tried to locate me. They tried to reach people who might have been inside the Pentagon to determine if I was OK. They kept in constant touch with my wife, updating her on their progress and calming her fears.
On September 11, 2001, I saw firsthand the best and the worst humanity can do. Fairfax County and D.C. rescue workers rushed to the Pentagon. Law enforcement and military personnel immediately took up guard at other federal locations throughout the area. Their first concern was not for themselves but to keep others safe.
The faces of courage and compassion were evident in many forms, both large and small, that day — including in all the people who were caring enough to help a frightened wife.
I believe that the best of humanity will ultimately triumph. And I will never again leave my home without kissing my wife goodbye.
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I wish he had told us how he finally made contact with him or she, him. Out of that darkness of 9/11 our good God has woven many such heroic stories. Praise God
Like most HeroicStories, this one brought thought-provoking light to my day. However, living walking distance to the Pentagon myself, I was thrown by the author’s description of a meeting in “Alexandria, Virginia, about a mile from the Pentagon.” Alexandria is south of the Pentagon, but there is no point in the city that close to the building; the Pentagon is located in Arlington County, so the author must have meant somewhere in the south part of Arlington.