Pentagon 9/11 /Alfred Goldberg [and others]

2007·22.9 MB·English

by  Washington, D.C. :Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense :[For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O.]

mm

Defense Studies Series
Pentagon 9/11
Hi
-I*
!
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2016
in
1
https://archive.org/details/pentagon91 alfreOOwash
1

This is the Official Government edition ofthis publication and is herein
identified to certify its authenticity* Use ofthe 0-16 ISBN prefix is for US*
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ofDocuments ofthe US* Government Printing Office requests that any
reprinted edition clearlybe labeled as a copy ofthe authentic workwith a new
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It is prohibited to use the Department ofDefense seal, as appears on the
titlepage, on any republication ofthis material without the express, written
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Pentagon9/11 /AlfredGoldberg...[etal.].
p.cm." (Defensestudiesseries)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13:978-0-16-078328-9
— —
1. September11TerroristAttacks,2001. 2.Pentagon(Va.).3. Terrorism Virginia Arlington. 4.
— —
Rescuework Virginia Arlington. I.Goldberg,Alfred,1918- II. UnitedStates.Dept,ofDefense.
HistoricalOffice.
HV6432.7.P432007
975.5'295044—dc22
2007016098
ForsalebytheSuperintendentofDocuments,U.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice
Internet:bookstore.gpo.gov Phone:tollfree(866) 512-1800;DCarea(202) 512-1800
Fax:[phone]Mail:StopIDCC,Washington,DC20402-0001
ISBN978-0-16-078328-9
Preface
As no other event in U«S. history, not even Pearl Harbor, the deadly
assaults on NewYorkandWashington thattookthelives ofalmost 3,000 people
on 11 September 2001 shatteredthe nations sense ofsecurityTheutterdestruc-
tion ofthe Twin Towers in New York and the severe damage done to the Pen-
tagon by Middle East terrorists signaled a changed world in the making, one
that poses a constant threat ofattack that the United States must guard against
and defeat ifits people are to live in freedom and safety The nation responded
first with stunned surprise and overwhelming grief, then with outrage and stern
refusal to be intimidated*
What happened at the Pentagon that day and for days afterwards is a
compelling story oftrauma and tragedy as well as courage and caring and an
instructivecase studyin copingwith such appallingcontingencies*Anyhistoryof
this eventmustrelatetheresolveandfortitudeexhibitedbythemilitaryandcivil-
ians most immediately affected as well as the indispensable help that came from
thousands ofresponders in the aftermath* In the firstterrifyingminutes after the
plane crashedinto the buildingthe swiftactions ofsurvivors and rescuers helped
savethe lives ofmanywho would otherwise haveperished*Theprompt response
andsubsequentperformanceoffederal,state,andespeciallylocalagencies,inpar-
ticular their coordination and cooperation with each other and with Pentagon
Preface
authorities, provided invaluable lessons for dealing with other large-scale emer-
gencies in the future*
TheDepartmentofDefenseundertookpreparationofahistoryofthe 11
September 2001 attack on the Pentagon at the suggestion ofBrig* Gen*John S*
Brown, director ofthe U*S*Army CenterofMilitary History*The OSD Histor-
—
ical Office initiated the project as a Defense Historical Study ajoint endeavor
on behalfofthe Department ofDefense* At the request ofthe director ofthe
OSD
Naval Historical Center, the Historian assignedresponsibility forprepara-
tion ofthe studyto theNaval Historical Center*
Reconstructing and clarifying this complex event required a collabora-
tive effort* A first draft ofthe history was prepared by Sarandis Papadopoulos
ofthe Naval Historical Center* He performed extensive research, conducted and
directedalarge number oforalhistoryinterviews, andprovidedan overallframe-
work for further review and revision* Edward Marolda ofthe Naval Historical
A
Center edited the manuscript and provided a second draft* third and final ver-
—
sionwaspreparedbymembers ofthestaffoftheOSD HistoricalOffice Alfred
Goldberg, Diane Putney, Nancy Berlage, and Rebecca Welch* They performed
much additional research including oral history interviews, reorganized and
rewrote the manuscript, thoroughly edited it, and checked it rigorously to insure
accuracy offact and ofuse and citation ofall sources* Stuart Rochester gave the
manuscript a final review andprepared the book for publication*The final prod-
uct reflects the efforts ofall ofthese participants and the researchers, compilers,
editors, and fact checkers who assisted them*
Above all, this book would not have been possible without the coop-
eration ofthe more than 1,300 people who participated in oral history inter-
views conducted by the historical offices ofthe Army (almost 900 interviews).
Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and OSD* The interviews were conducted by
staffmembers ofthese offices and by Army and Navy reservists who entered on
active dutyforthepurpose*Mostofthe firsthand evidence neededto providethe
foundation for an evocative, broad-based historical narrative comes from these
far-ranging interviews* Until a fuller and more definitive in-depth history can be
written, this account represents the most comprehensive effort to date to cap-
ture what occurred at the Pentagon on 9/11* Although there are intricate treat-
ments ofthe crash scene and the physical impact ofthe collision, the work is not
11
Preface
as much concernedwith elaboratetechnicalanalysis,which canbe foundin after-
action reports and other literature, as with conveying in accurate and sufficient
detail both the essential chronology and the kaleidoscopic nature ofthe unfold-
ingdevelopments that day, includingevokingboth the shockand destructiveness
surroundingthecatastrophe*Thefocus is onwhathappenedto peopleandto the
building on 11 September 2001 as seen chiefly through the eyes ofparticipants
and observers* The huge cast ofthousands includes the dead and injured, survi-
vors, rescuers, firefighters, medical attendants, FBI agents, police. Defense mil-
itary and civilian volunteers, forensic specialists, morticians, representatives of
scores offederal, state, local, and volunteer organizations, family assistance staff
ofthe DepartmentofDefense, andthe families ofthe survivors*The many recol-
lections ofindividual experiences are as fragmented as was the collapsed E Ring
section ofthebuilding*As with rebuildingofthe collapsed area,this accounthad
to reconstructthe sequence andprogression ofevents piece bypiece*
Thenecessaryreliance on oralhistoryinterviews varyinggreatlyin scope,
recollection, and qualitypresented a challenge in establishing a dependably accu-
rate and consistent record* A number ofsurvivors, rescuers, and responders still
suffered from the physical and emotional effects oftheir traumatic experiences
when interviewed days, months, and even years later* Given the circumstances
—
in which those in the impact area found themselves shocked, injured, dazed,
—
fearful, disoriented, gasping for breath it is understandable that they could
not retain clearly all that had happened to them or that they had observed* Even
where witnesses had vivid recollections oftheir experiences they often acknowl-
—
edged lack ofprecision in recalling all that had happened time, place, people,
—
and circumstances* Physical factors smoke, darkness, fire, debris, and other
—
hazards all contributed to disorientation and confusion* It is not surprising,
therefore,thatversions ofthesame eventbyparticipants orobserversviewingthe
scenefromindividualperspectives oftendifferedandthereforehadto beweighed
carefully* Still, it was necessary to make prudentjudgments where discrepancies
existed* Material used in this study was distilled from the enormous amount of
information available from the more than 1,300 interviews, ofwhich we found it
possible to use only a representative portion, relying on the corroborative testi-
mony oftwo or morewitnesses whereverpossible*
111
Preface
Ofthe manyproblems encountered in seekingto render an accurate and
authoritative account, the most difficult was to establish an exact timeline for 11
September* Few participants or observers could pinpoint precise times for what
—
happened thebuildingcollapse, arrivals and departures, rescues, treatment and
evacuation ofinjured, the progress offires, warnings and evacuations, building
searches, andescapes fromthewreckage* For manyofthe days developments the
best that can be done to identify time ofoccurrence is to use such locutions as
‘about 10:00 a*m*/'at‘approximately ll:15/“‘between 1:00 and2:00p*m*’This is
especially necessary where there are conflicting recollections or gaps in the avail-
able evidence, and other sources such as physical documentation did not permit
the authors to resolve the discrepancies or achieve absolute certainty* In general,
there maybe confidence in the accuracyofthe sequence ofevents ifnotthe exact
time ofeach*
Space does not allow giving here the credit due many individuals who
contributed importantly to this volume* We acknowledge them by name in a
list appended after the text and regret any inadvertent omissions* The hun-
dreds oforal history interviews cited in the study appear in a list included in the
bibliography*
Finally, although this volume was prepared in the Department ofDe-
fense, the views expressed are those ofthe authors and do not necessarily repre-
sent those ofthe department*
Alfred Goldberg
OSD
Historian
IV