Authors Revisit Horror, Heroism of 9/11

A damaged Pentagon ... a resilient nation

With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 only 2 days away, we attended a spellbinding special program at the National Archives today where 3 noted authors of books about that terrorist attack provided inside details of both the heroism and the horror of that fateful September day.

Prompted by questions from Gordon Peterson, Emmy-award winning anchor of DC Channel 7 news, the 3-member panel led the audience on a chronological trip through the initial hours of 9/11.

First, aviation expert Lynn Spencer explained the chaos air traffic controllers experienced when they realized that America was under attack from hijacked American planes being used as missiles, a chaos she had more fully described in her book Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama that Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11.

The narrative was picked up by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jim Dwyer, who recounted hair-raising details from 102 Minutes: The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers which he co-authored.

Finally, Chief Business Correspondent for U. S. News and World Report Rick Newman, added vignettes from The Pentagon which he had unveiled in his co-authored book Firefight: Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon.

Each of the authors singled out stories of incredible heroism on the part of ordinary people. Dwyer told of 2 NY transit workers, who, armed only with crowbars, led scores of trapped people to safety only to perish themselves when the tower collapsed. Newman recounted the actions of a 6'5'' Navy SEAL seal who, despite being injured, served as a human net to catch female workers jumping to safety from upper Pentagon floors. Newman read a passage from his book which said the SEAL, when he realized that one of the plunging women was extremely large, noted "man, this is going to suck." Spencer singled out the courageous action of an FAA official, who, on the very first day of his job and with no higher authority, called for the grounding of all American planes, an action which may have saved countless more lives since there is belief that additional terrorists may have been planning to commandeer other planes and strike other targets.

"He said I may not have a job tomorrow, but I am going to do this today," Spencer told the audience.

Travelers' Tip:
Even if you are going to see a particular event, always check to see what else of related interest might be at the site.  For example, we learned today that 2 speeches, the one then-President George W. Bush delivered immediately after the attack and the one President Barack Obama delivered after the recent killing of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, were on special display elsewhere in the Archives building.