No Words To Describe The Horror

I know everyone has a “where I was on 9-11″ story. This is mine.

I was stationed in Kansas with the US Army (yes, I am still in). I was on a brigade staff in the S-3 shop. Due to the time difference, I was heading into work after PT (Physical Training) to Ft Riley.

On the radio was the “Bob and Tom Show”. They were talking about a plane hitting the WTC. I thought, “That is not funny at all! It’s disturbing” and changed the channel. Only it was not a joke. Every station had it, FM and AM. I then heard about the second plane hitting and hit the gas on my car.

At this time, US CONUS army bases were “open posts” and there were no gate guards. I roared onto base doing about 110mph and rushed all the way up Custer Hill. I was not alone. Everyone was rushing into work. I got to the “horse shoe” where the units were housed and found I could not get to BDE HQ.

The road to the Headquarters was blocked with emergency vehicles. People were already jumpy and this really made a few panic. It turned out that a road construction team had hit a gas main while digging. The reactions by people evacuating nearby buildings was just a hint of how shaken people were.

I ran into my office and grabbed the AT/FP book (I was the Force Protection Officer also) and drove, a little more calmly, to Post HQ. They were briefing the CG on exactly how the base would be protected when a very pale officer walked in and stated that the Pentagon was hit and communications were down. This caused a minor panic which the CG quelled pretty fast.

Very calmly he asked if our brigades had everything we needed to protect the base. We already had rehearsed these acts in the summer as part of our AT/FP training and were ready. Within a short time, the gates were closed and guards emplaced. It took a lot of work in that short time, along with a lot of refining, phone calls to loved ones, and ensuring everyone stayed safe.

During the day, someone mentioned what part of the Pentagon was destroyed and I realized it was my aunt’s office area. I called my mother, a Vietnam vet, and she was crying. My mother only cried like she was when my father died a few years prior. We lost communications with my aunt for a few hours, but, luckily, she was away from her desk and down the hall when the PLANE (NOT a missle) hit the building. She also saw the wreckage of the plane as they ran out.

I got a few hours to go home and call my fiance at around 11pm that night. Our base had been circled several times by middle eastern men and the local gun dealers were calling the police stating that similar men, with fake IDs, were trying to by AK rifles (and only AKs). We were all jumpy, but communications were restored and everything was going as best it could. In truth, the American Military responded wonderfully on 9-11 and probably kept any follow-up attacks from materializing.

I was talking to my then fiance (now my wife) about our wedding two weeks comming and if I would be able to make it or not when my mother called saying my aunt was alive, if a little worse for wear. I eventually did make it to my wedding and my aunt fully recovered, but that is another story.

That is just one of millions of 9-11-01 stories, I know, but it is mine.