I was in the Pentagon today when the plane hit

This page contains my summary of what happened to me at the Pentagon on the 11th. Below the summary is a picture of the Pentagon after the attack with labels of where I was at various times on the 11th. It also contains pictures I took the Saturday after the Attack. I took these to help people understand that Washington was still a beautiful city in spite of what happened.

What I wrote on getting back to my apartment on the 11th

I was in the Pentagon today when the plane hit. I had gone for a medical appointment, and was in the clinic waiting for a prescription to be filled. While waiting, I saw the NYC report on the clinic’s TV. I was watching when the 2^nd plane hit. I remember thinking what a target the Pentagon was. I decided to get a bite to eat before going to the State Department, and went into one of the cafeterias near the middle of the building. I was in there just a few seconds when someone yelled in that we were evacuating the Pentagon due to a bomb threat. There was not too much reaction. Perhaps 15 seconds later another person stuck his head in and yelled "get out, a bomb went off." With that, people began to move.

We ran down the ramp to the main exit, hundreds of us, and then down the escalators. I was very impressed. We all moved rapidly, but there was no panic, no pushing and shoving, and lots of cooperation. We then ran up the escalators that went to the outside, and out into the air. I looked back at the building, and was stunned to see the huge cloud of black smoke pouring into the sky. I moved across the parking lot and was able to see the impact point. Lots of fire and smoke, but the damage didn’t look too major.

One of the police asked for military in uniform to come and help set up a perimeter. I went along, and took a place across the field from the damaged side. I was told by a fellow officer that he had spoken to an eyewitness who reported clearly seeing the American Airlines logo on the side of the airplane.

A security officer came by my "station" with an armload of wreckage from the plane, and set it inside the cordon in front of me. I looked around my area, and found a piece of wreckage. It was about the size of a piece of notebook paper, and was greasy. I picked it up and placed it near the other collected debris inside the rope line.

I was amazed by the speed with which a triage area was set up. I think I was outside near the crash within 3-5 minutes of the crash. And only perhaps 10 minutes after that there was a full-blown triage area set up. They had laid out colored tarps (that I assume were color-coded for type of injury), tubs full of supplies, backboards, and ready access to many, many ambulances and air ambulances.

As the building burned, I saw the section of the E ring collapse and the roof cave in. It sounded like a load of tin roofs being thrown down a stair case.

Shortly after, the cops came through warning that another airplane was hijacked and was 20 minutes away. We all began to run farther away. I fell back to the area near Arlington Cemetery, where many people were gathered. Rumors were rampant, and at that time I heard for the first time that there had been a car bomb at the State Department (a false report, as it turned out). I helped one guy with a head wound get into the car his wife was driving. He was a "walking wounded" and had had his head bandaged, and then was to make his way to the hospital with his wife.

I realized my family might be worried, as they would have expected me to at work. Worse, I could not remember if I had told folks I was going to be at the Pentagon that morning. I tried to call home on my cell phone, and was unable to get a signal. I later learned that all the cell phone repeaters had been turned off to avoid aiding any further attacks.

While I was standing there, a man came up and asked if I knew where a particular General’s office was. His wife worked there, and he always dropped her off near where the plane had impacted. I didn’t really know, but I told him I thought all the Air Force offices were on the far side of the building. It was a bit of a lie, but I thought that it would be a kindness to ease his panic, even if he got bad news later. I’m not sure if that was the right thing to do, but I made a spur of the moment decision.

I then decided to walk back to my apartment. I was very upset by what I had seen and didn’t think it wise to try to get back in the district. I walked to the maintenance entrance to Arlington Cemetery and asked if I could cut through (my apartment is just beyond Ft Myer, an army post, that is on the other side of the Cemetery). The guard said that I could, so I started hiking through the Cemetery. It was surreal. There was evidence of the morning funerals, but no one else among the thousands of graves. I have spent many hours walking Arlington National Cemetery, and have never before been alone there. I could still see the smoke over my shoulder. I walked up to the Lee House because it has a commanding view of DC. I wanted to see if there was smoke from the State Department. There was none, and the ranger on duty told me he had not heard officially that there had been a car bomb at State. The view was disquieting, the Memorial Bridge was closed and empty, a sight I had never seen before. It was a Twilight Zone feeling, but I was living it instead of watching it. It was real.

I got to the back gate of Ft Myer and showed my ID and was allowed on. As I walked the post, I saw dozens and dozens of soldiers suiting up in full combat gear, along with Hummers with machineguns on top. There was an urgency, a seriousness that was palpable. They were ready to fight, but all the attackers were dead and out of reach.

Walking back through the neighborhood, I was trying to call my family on my cell phone, but was unable to get through. As I passed one house, a young lady asked if I would like to use their phone and to have a drink of water (hot day). I gratefully accepted, but their phone was not fully operational either. I walked back to my apartment, twice being offered rides by motorists as I crossed the main road near my apartment.

Washington and Northern Virginia are both under a state of emergency. All bridges and roads into the District were closed. Out my apartment window, I was able to see the smoke from the Pentagon fire, and so I know where it is relative to me. Helicopters have been circling and every so often I hear a fighter flying high cover.

I can’t really describe what this feels like. You have seen the reports on TV where a person who has lived through a tornado or something and describes it in vague terms. I can’t really explain how this feels. I couldn’t believe that it was REAL. How could it happen? Terrorism has always been, with rare exceptions, away from here. Now I think I know what it feels like to live in the Middle East.

As I think of more, I’ll add updates.