The Old Guard: Its Finest Hour by SFC William E. White, Jr.

BRIEFS BRIEFS

On a normal day, the loudest thing in the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps building is a full Corps
rehearsal. Shrill fifes, thundering drums and blaring bugles, all playing at once, can be a quite formidable sound and tends to drown out anything else in the near vicinity. But the music of the Fife and Drum Corps was overpowered on the morning of September 11th by the sad, desperate screams of fire and police sirens.

Just an hour prior, much of the Corps had huddled around the TV in the day room to watch the endless replay of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. Amazed as we were by what we
were watching, that amazement soon turned to disbelief as we watched, live on television, as a fireball erupted in the second tower. Not one of us watching was immune to the same questions that Americans across the country were asking themselves. What’s going on? Who’s doing this? This couldn’t be an accident.

But the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps did have a performance that day and so we pulled ourselves away from the TV, attempted to steady our spinning minds and go prepare to do our job. Soon the Corps was settled into a familiar routine of final rehearsal for a mission. Then word made it to the rehearsal hall: “They just hit the Pentagon.”

From that moment on, “routine” no longer existed for The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, or America. For years, the contingency mission of The Old Guard has been the defense of the national capitol region. Dozens of scenarios have been rehearsed, but no one ever anticipated something like what happened on September 11th. In all of the scenarios the Fife and Drum
Corps, like all Army bands, is tasked with rear support duties. In drills, this usually means that the Corps provides personnel to augment security at Regimental Headquarters, checking IDs and controlling access to the building. Within minutes of the news that the Pentagon had been struck, soldiers from the Fife and Drum Corps were on their way up the street to take up this task. The remainder of the Corps secured the Fife and Drum building and watched the tragedy unfolding on network television. For much of the Fife and Drum Corps, the reality of the situation and its possible ramifications soon hit home as the entire Corps gathered in the rehearsal hall again, but this time without instruments.

Instead of our familiar fifes,
bugles and drums, we gathered in the
rehearsal hall to receive some update
training on the use of our protective
masks. In the Fife and Drum Corps, for
the past 15 years, going to the field has
meant heading out to Summerall Field
or the Pentagon for another ceremony or
hopping on a bus to head off to Western
Pennsylvania for a Parade. By the end of
the day on September 11th, the Corps
was putting together newly issued TA-50,
retrained in the use of their gas masks
and looking more like a line company
than a musical element.
Over the next two weeks, we performed
more like a line company as
well. Occasionally, you might hear
someone in a practice room during their
“12-hours-off” shift, but mostly the
music stopped. All of the scheduled
performances were cancelled, including
Spirit of America, and the flow of new
requests dropped off completely.
Instead, the Corps fielded requests from
Regimental Headquarters to supplement
the line companies in their duties. And
with the same focus that is applied to
performing an arrival ceremony on the
White House lawn, the Fife and Drum
Corps attacked the new, and for us,
unusual duties to which we were called.
After the initial security detail at the
HQ building, the Corps provided NCOs
to the Military District of Washington
Emergency Operations Center to help
coordinate recovery efforts at the
Pentagon, as well as a platoon on standby
to dish out food to the troops working
at the Pentagon. Soon, however, the
Corps departed from the traditional support
role that Army bands fill. Two platoons
were dispatched to the Pentagon
for remains recovery, light labor and
security. After 24 hours of taskings at
the Pentagon, the musician-soldiers of
the Fife and Drum Corps began what
was to be their primary task for the next
10 days: augmenting the MPs at the
gates and other security points on Ft.
Myer. Searching cars and directing traffic
were only two of the many skills for
which the Corps traded in their instruments.
Once relief arrived from as far away as
Puerto Rico, the Fife and Drum Corps
returned to building 231 and the fifes,
drums and bugles that were left behind
on September 11th. Less than twelve
hours after the final MP augmentation
shift ended, the Fife and Drum Corps
was back on Summerall Field rehearsing
for a ceremony. For the first time in
nearly two weeks, the Corps was playing
music and marching drill and performing
the tasks that we train for on a daily
basis. That first rehearsal was rough.
Perhaps it was two weeks of not marching.
Perhaps it was two weeks of not
practicing. Perhaps the focus level was
dialed down one or two notches to make
room for the lingering doubts and fears
from the 11th. By the second go-round
for the rehearsal, however, the Corps was
back in fine form.
At his retirement ceremony on
November 15th, MSG Brian Pentony
summed up the feelings of the entire
Corps. MSG Pentony was the Snare-
Drum Group Leader for more than ten
years and served in the Fife and Drum
Corps for twenty years. In his remarks,
he had this to say, "I’ve performed in
Spirit of America since ’83, Inaugural
Parades for four Presidents, Tattoos and so
many other things. But the memory I will
cherish the most from my time here is
having been part of The Old Guard Fife
and Drum Corps at its finest hour. That
hour came on September 11th and the
days that followed.”

9 11 The Army Reserve Responds

By Lt. Col. Randy Pullen Public Affairs and Liaison Directorate Office of the Chief, Army Reserve (OCAR)

As we approach the 3-month mark since that awful September 11 morning, the Army Reserve’s
response exceeds what was asked of it during the Vietnam War 33 years earlier and was faster than its Gulf War response 11 years ago. On April 11, 1968, a partial mobilization was announced. The Army Reserve’s share of this was 42 units. These units had an authorized strength of 5,869 soldiers. This partial mobilization took place three years after ground combat
troops had been introduced into Vietnam. It was also three years after Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara had recommended a much larger mobilization. On September 14, 2001, three days after the terrorist attacks on America, President George W. Bush ordered a partial
mobilization of the reserves. As of November 27, eleven weeks after the attacks, 249 Army Reserve units had been called up, nearly six times as many as had been mobilized in 1968.
Almost 9,000 Army Reserve men and women have been mobilized, with another 2,000 Army Reservists supporting operations in an other-than-mobilized status. Iraq Revisited
The last partial mobilization of the
nation’s reserve components took place
during the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
Although the number of Army Reservists
called to active duty has not reached the
84,000 activated for that conflict, the
timelines have been dramatically shortened.
Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2,
1990. On August 22, President George
Bush issued a Presidential Selected
Reserve Call-up. Executive Order 12743,
the partial mobilization authorization,
was not signed until January 18, 1991,
one day after the air campaign against
Iraq had begun.
“This indicates just how serious these
attacks were for America,” said Lt. Gen.
Thomas J. Plewes, Chief, Army Reserve.
“During the Gulf War, we had a
Presidential Selected Reserve Call-up less
than three weeks after Iraq invaded
Kuwait, but a partial mobilization did
not occur until five and a half months
later.”
Reservists Answer the Call
The first call-ups under the partial
mobilization took place on September
22. Just as in 1990, however, the Army
Reserve was already engaged before the
orders came down. By the time the first
units were called up, the Army Reserve
already had seven units, one installation,
six facilities and approximately 2,300
personnel involved in support of operations.
Most units and personnel were in
a training status.
Some Army Reservists had been
engaged even quicker. That had been
on the front lines of the “the first war of
the 21st century” at the Pentagon and in
New York City on September 11.
When American Airlines Flight 77 hit
the west side of the Pentagon and a
number of Army offices, Active Guard
Reserve (AGR) Lieutenant Colonels Victor
Correa and Isabelle Slifer, both assigned
to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff
for Personnel (ODCSPER), Headquarters,
Department of the Army, helped others
escape the building.
Correa was knocked to the floor by
the plane’s impact. He picked himself
up and helped others out of the room.
Coming across a badly burned man in
the hallway, he and some others lifted
up the man and carried him to safety.
Correa had to break through a jammed
fire door to get the man out of the
building. He went back again to help
more people. When the smoke became
so thick that he could not see, he started
shouting. “Listen to me! Listen to me!
Follow my voice!” People guided on his
booming voice and escaped the smoke
and flames.
On October 24, in a ceremony at Fort
Myer, Va., Secretary of the Army Thomas
E. White presented the Soldier’s Medal to
Correa for his valor on September 11, as
well as the Purple Heart Medal for
injuries he received that day.
Twenty-one members of ODCSPER,
soldiers and civilians, were among the
125 Pentagon workers killed in the
attack. One of the ODCSPER casualties
was AGR Lt. Col. David M. Scales, the
Personnel Policy Integrator. He had
transferred to ODCSPER from the Force
Programs Directorate, Office of the Chief,
Army Reserve (OCAR), in May 2001.
On October 10, Scales was posthumously
promoted to colonel. The Chief
of the Army Reserve presented his
widow and 12-year-old son his eagles, as
well as the Purple Heart and Legion of
Merit Medals. Col. Scales’ remains were
inurned with full military honors at
Arlington National Cemetery on October
11.
AGR Lt. Col. Sean Kelly and a coworker,
Capt. Darrell Oliver, lifted a desk
off of a secretary. Oliver then put the
woman on his back and carried her out
of the Pentagon. Oliver also received the
Soldier’s Medal and the Purple Heart on
October 24.
Retired Army Reserve Col. William B.
Croom, Assistant Deputy, Office of the
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army
for Logistics and AGR Lt. Col. Douglas R.
Thomson, the Executive Officer and
Assistant for Army Reserve Logistics,
were both in their Pentagon offices
when the attack occurred. The force of
the impact was so great that it flung
people against the wall or out of their
chairs. Croom and Thomson went into
action immediately. Their concern was to
get people evacuated and to secure the
area. For seven hours after exiting the
building, Croom and Thomson assisted
medical personnel as litter bearers moving
injured people to a safe place, setting
up triage sites, and also acting as comforters
to soothe distraught victims
“I was just feeling like I needed to be
there to do whatever I could,” said
Croom.
Also helping to treat the injured was
Col. Ed Wakayama, an Army Reserve
Medical Service Corps officer on a oneyear
tour of duty with the Director for
Operational Test and Evaluation, Office
of the Secretary of Defense. After exiting
the building, he helped perform triage
and administered IVs to those who were
in shock and who had lost body fluids.
He then turned to help the Red Cross in
setting up blood draw operations.
More Army Reservists headed to the
Pentagon from nearby Crystal City. Capt.
Calvin Wineland from OCAR Operations,
rushed from a computer class there to
check on his children at the Pentagon
childcare center. He found them and his
wife, Maj. Desiree Wineland, another
AGR officer assigned to OCAR in the
Public Affairs and Liaison Directorate.
All were safe in the area where the children
had been relocated after the plane
hit. Maj. Wineland had sprinted to the
childcare center from OCAR’s offices in
Crystal City.
Before he could take his family home
in their Sport Utility Vehicle, Capt.
Wineland was stopped and asked to take
a badly burned soldier to the hospital.
A multi-service group helped unload his
SUV and put the injured man in it. A
Navy sailor on a motorcycle volunteered
to lead Wineland, relatively new to the
Washington area, to a hospital.
Led by the sailor motorcyclist, they
made a mad dash for the hospital, running
over sidewalks, medians, and going
against traffic to get the wounded soldier
there. When they arrived at the hospital,
the motorcyclist admitted that he had
never been to the Georgetown Hospital
but somehow he led them directly there.
Days later, Wineland learned that one
of those who helped load the burned
soldier into his SUV was Army Reserve
Col. Robert O. Cortez, an Individual
Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) officer
with the Office of the Assistant Secretary
of the Army (Manpower and Reserve
Affairs). Cortez had been assisting with
the ARFPC meeting when the Pentagon
was evacuated. Following the attack, his
annual training at the Pentagon was
changed to annual training at OCAR
Operations where he met Wineland and
learned he was the SUV driver.
Fight the Fire First
The fire from the burning airplane and
reports of other airplanes approaching
the Pentagon kept the litter teams back.
They found other ways to support an
army of firefighters and other rescue
personnel that now descended on the
Pentagon.
As soon as the Pentagon was hit, the
building housing most of OCAR in
Crystal City was evacuated. Many OCAR
staffers went to the Pentagon to see if
they could help. Most were turned back
by the police but some like medic
Master Sgt. Jacqueline Gopie, Medical
Policy NCO, and Lt. Col. Timon Oujiri, a
Legislative Affairs Officer who used to be
a mortuary assistant, were allowed
through the police lines. Like the others,
they were frustrated by the continuing
Pentagon fire and reports of inbound
aircraft from being able to go into the
building to find additional survivors.
They found other ways to help. Oujiri
started directing traffic to relieve the
flow of emergency vehicles in the congested
area. Maj. Michael Coughlin of
the OCAR Legal Counsel’s Office, became
the senior Army representative at the
on-site FBI Command Post, helping to
coordinate information. He later helped
set up the temporary morgue.
The Army Reserve Responds As vendors arrived at the scene to
bring support to the firefighters and rescue
workers, Swisher took charge of
coordinating their efforts. He also ran
back to his apartment and brought over
his pick-up truck to haul off trash.
When senior officers arrived and asked
who was in charge of this impromptu
logistics set-up, Swisher said that he was,
since no one had told him he was not.
They accepted his authority without
question. He continued his role as vendor
support officer-in-charge for the first
days following the attack.
Chaplains Pitch In to Help
Army Reserve Chaplain (Col.) Larry
Racster, Reserve Advisor to the Army
Chief of Chaplains, hurried to the
Pentagon and went to work. He set up a
central point near the crash site and
became officer-in-charge to a multi-service,
multi-denominational group of
chaplains ministering to first responders,
rescue workers, mortuary teams, Red
Cross, Salvation Army and other volunteers.
These chaplains went into the
Pentagon with the rescue and recovery
teams. They also counseled and prayed
with anyone and everyone, conducted
religious services on-site, and debriefed
rescue and recovery workers going off
shift.
As the chaplain “company commander,”
Racster kept a close eye on the
chaplains under his charge in the busy
and difficult days that followed
September 11, moving several of them to
other duties when they showed signs of
extreme stress themselves.
While all this was taking place at the
Pentagon, there was an even greater
tragedy unfolding in New York City.
Army Reservists were at “Ground Zero,”
too. Among the thousands of people in
the World Trade Center and the hundreds
of firefighters and rescue workers
lost while trying to rescue them were a
number of Army Reserve soldiers.
“Among the hundreds of firefighters
who lost their lives when the twin towers
collapsed are at least five of our own
— Army Reserve soldiers carrying out
their civilian jobs to help their fellow
citizens, “ said Plewes, one week after the
attacks. “We are still learning of others
who are missing.”
Many of the first to respond came
from the South Manhattan District fire
battalion. The fire battalion commander
is Bill Blaich, an Army Reserve colonel
who is an Individual Mobilization
Augmentee with the Military Traffic
Management Command (MTMC).
Days later, he was able to get to a
computer and send out an email,
explaining to his superiors at MTMC
that he was unable to be activated for
Reserve duty. He had been on the
Staten Island Ferry moving to the World
Trade Center when Tower 1 collapsed.
“This week has been a horror,” he
wrote. “Lower Manhattan collapsed. I
can’t answer your request for 72-hour
activation at this time. As soon as the
situation stabilizes I will gladly toss my
name into the ring.
“Regards to all and thanks for keeping
me in your thoughts. A little prayer for
the missing wouldn’t hurt either. We’re
looking for over 350 firefighters alone.”
His firefighter son was had been in
Tower 1 when it collapsed. Blaich called
his wife when he found out he had been
found alive and gave her the one-word
answer that meant their son was okay:
“Yes!”
Blaich is a Vietnam veteran. An Army
Reservist since 1972, he was called up for
duty during the Gulf War and later for
Haiti. Now he is a veteran of a new war.
Quick Response
Among the first units to respond to
the World Trade Center disaster was the
77th Regional Support Command (RSC),
which is headquartered in Flushing, N.Y.
Key to the 77th’s quick reaction were a
trained and functioning Emergency
Operations Center and responsive units.
Hundreds of support items were appropriated
and delivered in short order to
assist in the disaster recovery effort. A
laundry and bath unit quickly set up to
support the mortuary operation.
Equally quick to respond and critical
to the recovery efforts were Army
Reserve Emergency Preparedness Liaison
Officers, who arrived on scene immediately
to facilitate support requests from
civilian agencies as quickly and effectively
as possible.
Army Reserve units and soldiers
around the country were soon coming
forward to serve in the aftermath of
September 11.
“As speedy as the partial mobilization
was — the President ordered it on
September 14 and the first Army Reserve
units were called up under it on
September 22 — Army Reserve men and
women were even quicker,” said Plewes.
Army Reserve Military Police units
were soon providing force protection,
security, investigation and port security
support at locations nation-wide.
Others provided garrison and headquarters
augmentation and logistics support.
They served as volunteers in a training
status until the call-ups began, then
Holiday Message
from the CAR
Even with the unprecedented events
of September 11, this has been a
year of success and accomplishment
for the Army Reserve. This year
started on a high note. Once again, the
nation’s military — to include Army
Reserve soldiers from Fort Meade, MD —
took part in that great ceremony of
American democracy, the inauguration
of a freely elected President in January.
We completed the 10th anniversary
commemoration of the Persian Gulf
War, honoring our great Army Reserve
veterans and pausing to remember the
sacrifice of our comrades lost in that
conflict.
By the mid-point of 2001, the longawaited
dream of a third star for the
Reserve Chief had become a reality, a
tribute to the achievements and hard
work of every citizen-soldier and
recognition of the importance of the
Reserve to the nation.
Army Reserve soldiers continued to
live the Army Reserve vision by serving
honorably and well across the globe, by
being trained and ready, by continuing
to be the most diverse of all the reserve
components and by continuing to
stride forward in Army Transformation.
And then came September 11.
I can only repeat the sentiment that
so many others — to include President
Bush and Mayor Giuliani — have said:
this was not only America’s worst day
but also its finest.
As unimaginable horror came to our
country, Americans rose to the occasion.
There were heroes everywhere that
day, in New York City, at the Pentagon
and in the skies over Pennsylvania.
These heroes were citizens and citizensoldiers.
All Americans are proud of
them.
We in the Army
Reserve are especially
proud of our own who
displayed the highest
qualities of courage
and selflessness on
September 11, whether
that meant rushing
into the World Trade
Center, helping injured
comrades out of the
burning Pentagon or
organizing rescue and
recovery activities,
regardless of personal
safety concerns. We
will never forget what
they did.
As the flames continued
to be fought at
the Pentagon and in
New York, the Army
Reserve went into
action all across
America. Thousands
of trained and ready
Army Reserve men
and women came forward,
first as volunteers and then in
response to the partial mobilization
ordered just three days after the attacks.
They came quickly, more quickly
than ever before, conducting hasty
mobilizations or mobilizing on the go.
Arriving at their places of duty, they
immediately started their missions:
force protection and security at installations
and facilities, intelligence and
investigation support, training and
training validation, headquarters augmentation
and historical documentation,
logistics and transportation operations.
Whatever the National
Command Authority needed the Army
Reserve to do, we did it.
Two months after the attacks, there
are almost 10,000 Army Reserve soldiers
on duty, accomplishing the core competency
missions mentioned, as well as
other assignments. They are part of
the more than 50,000 members of the
nation’s reserve components on duty
today defending the homeland. All of
them put aside their own lives and
concerns for the good of the nation.
No acts of terror could ever deter patriots
like these.
Backing up these magnificent men
and women is a united nation. One
part of this nation is particularly supportive
— that quiet group of heroes
who are the family members, those
who support and love their citizen-soldiers
with all their strength.
At this special time of year and with
all the uncertainty we face as we continue
the struggle against terrorism, let
us remember the unconquerable
strength that resides within our national,
Army Reserve and personal families.
Now, more than ever, celebrate and
enjoy the closeness of family and
friends.
I wish all of you a very happy holiday
season and a happy new year.
LTG Thomas J. Plewes
Chief, Army Reserve

most of these units and individuals
simply changed their duty
status but continued doing
these vital missions without
missing a beat.
An example of how quickly
the Army Reserve could go into
action was that of the 311th
Quartermaster Company
(Mortuary Affairs) from
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
The mortuary affairs soldiers
of the active Army’s 54th
Quartermaster Company from
Fort Lee, Va., were on site at the
Pentagon by September 12. It
was soon clear that more highly
trained mortuary affairs specialists
were needed to recover the
remains from the Pentagon with
the efficiency, dignity and
honor required.
Those specialists were in the
Army Reserve and they were in
Puerto Rico. The call went out
on September 14 to the 65th
Regional Support Command,
the 311th’s higher headquarters.
The first 85 soldiers from the
company left Puerto Rico that
same day.
They were at work in the
north parking lot of the
Pentagon on September 17,
working side-by-side with the
FBI, searching tons of debris for
evidence and human remains.
The 311th had been called up,
deployed and started operations
within 72 hours.
“This unit mobilized here, not
at home station,” Plewes said.
The rest of the company,
another 105 men and women,
joined the first 85 soldiers on
September 26.
For some of the 311th’s soldiers,
the first drill with the unit
since graduating from
Advanced Individual Training
(AIT) at Fort Lee had been the
one on September 14.
One of these was Pvt. 2
Wilnette Perez-Padilla, who
graduated from AIT on August
28.
No Shortage of Volunteers
“They asked for volunteers,”
she said. “My hand went up.
It’s a sad situation but I’m
extremely proud to be here to
help our nation.”
Before she began work on the
17th, she first met someone who
wanted to thank her and her
fellow reservists, President
George W. Bush. Perez-Padilla
was present when the
Commander-in-Chief shook
hands with members of the
Reserve and Guard called to
duty at the Pentagon. When
told that the 311th was an
Army Reserve company from
Puerto Rico, the President
exchanged a few words in
Spanish with the company
commander, 1st Lt. Hector
Martinez.
After also meeting the Chief
of the Army Reserve, Perez-
Padilla and her fellow 311th
soldiers were soon in biohazard
going through the debris. The
first, working in two 12-hours
shifts, they went truck 14 trucktrailers
full of rubble.
It was a difficult mission but
the younger soldiers were
under kept under the close eyes
of a strong core of experienced
leaders. Several of their NCOs,
to include 1st Sgt. Jose Santiago,
had been with the company
when it deployed to the Persian
Gulf and knew first-hand the
sort of work being done and
the signs of stress to watch for
among the mortuary specialists.
The company makes sure the
soldiers make frequent phone
calls to family members back
home. There have also been
video-teleconference sessions
from Washington to the families
gathered in the reserve center
in Puerto Rico.
Having finished the mission
of recovering remains and
pieces of remains from the
Pentagon, the 311th took on the
mission of collecting and processing
personal effects from
the victims and the damaged
Pentagon offices. It a way, it’s
as emotionally troubling as
their previous mission. Each
item belonged to someone or
was important to the people in
the office, people who are no
longer living.
Fifty days after September 11,
there are thousands of Army
Reservists like those of the
311th on duty, doing a multitude
of missions in support of
the recovery efforts and
Homeland Security.
Among the missions being
performed by Army Reserve
units and soldiers are the following:
security and force protection,
intelligence support,
headquarters and garrison augmentation,
mortuary affairs,
port security, engineer support,
traffic management, communications
support, investigation
support, historical documentation,
training and validation of
the readiness of activated
reserve component units.
Further demands by the
National Command Authority
may be made for the capabilities
already used as for additional
Army Reserve capabilities
to support operations against
the terrorists and to help
humanitarian relief efforts.
One month after the attacks, the
Chief of the Army Reserve
addressed what the Army
Reserve had done and what it
may be called upon to do. His
words still apply at the 50-day
mark and for as long as the
nation may call on the citizensoldiers
of the Army Reserve.
“For a month, we have been giving
our national leaders a lesson
about the capabilities, experience
and dedication of the Army
Reserve. For a month, we have
been demonstrating a small part
of what we can do all across
America today. We are ready.
Our nation needs us. We will
do what needs to be done.”
Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Plewes October 11,
2001
(Lt. Col. Gloria Davis and Capt. Rebecca
Leggieri of the Public Affairs and Liaison
Directorate of OCAR and Sgt. 1st Class
Anthony J. Martinez of the 96th RSC
Public Affairs Office contributed to this

Sergeant Janice Ann Jackson, Civilian Contractor, Army Reservist

The Role of the Army Reserve in the 11 September Attacks: The Pentagon

JACKSON: My office was Information Management, which was [Room] 1D520
INTERVIEWER: Where were you located in relation to the attack?
JACKSON: I was located in the D Ring. Where the attack took place was the E ring, which was less than 100 feet away from where the incident actually took place...
INTERVIEWER: Did you have any indication of an impending attack on the Pentagon?
JACKSON: No.
INTERVIEWER: Please describe what happened upon the impact of the aircraft.
JACKSON: We were sitting at our desks and we were...looking at the computer. We were looking at the stuff that was on the Internet in reference to the attack in New York. I'd say less than five minutes after that [there] was this loud explosion. It happened so quickly. The only thing that we actually saw was fire...It's like a fireball that just...came through. It just throw us all over the place...All I knew was that some heat was over my head. I didn't realize that my hair was on fire until a co-worker of mine, whose name is Stuart Fluke, said, "J.J.,...your hair is on fire." So he took off his shirt, and he put the fire out on my hair. My hands had already gotten burned from the flames just coming my way...Wherever we ended up at, there was a baby, and they were pulling the baby out. I was trying to get across the rubble...and stuff in there. As I was going out, I said to one of my co-workers..."I can't hardly breathe." He was saying that he couldn't hardly breathe either because the smoke was so thick. It was really, really, really thick. It...was really kind of hard to breathe.

We managed to walk out... it was looking like there wasn't any way out of there. But what we noticed is there was a...large hole...in the far right corner. Some of our co-workers there [said] ..."Come this way. Come this way." So we managed to cross some of that debris and to climb over that way...As I [was] walking out, there was a co=worker of mine, Racquel Kelly...and I guess she spotted me, because she was down low...she was stuck up under all that debris and all that rubble and stuff. It was stacked up on top of her. She was saying, "J.J., please help me." And so what I did was I pulled her out. I managed to pull her out, because it was really stacked up on her and it was really heavy. Once I pulled her out she was able to walk some on her own. We had to climb up all this other debris [to]... where the hole was in the wall. We had to actually climb up a lot of stuff in order . . . to get out of there. But we managed to get out. It was really stacked up really high.
INTERVIEWER: Did that put you on the roof of the building or just into another section?
JACKSON: It was right where the actual impact took place . . . where the helicopter was. . . .
INTERVIEWER: Now you said you were blown down the hall. Did the force of the blast
blow you there?
JACKSON: Yes, it just threw us all over . . . . It threw us . . . further down into another ring.
There was no way that we were still in our office, because in our office were computers,
computer systems, PCUs. . . . You couldn't see that. There was nothing there anymore. The only
thing you could see was debris. . . . I think the second floor caved in because I know something
fell on my back. So, that's how I got the burns on my back . . . .
INTERVIEWER: Do you have any idea how long it took you from the time of impact until you got out of the building?
JACKSON: Well, to me, it seemed like it was . . . more than twenty minutes, but I know for a
fact it had to have been less than five minutes.
INTERVIEWER: Once you got out of the building, what happened next?
JACKSON: Well, when I . . . got out of the building, I was pretty blown away. I was
hysterical. . . . I was kind of out of control because my hands felt like they were still on fire here.
My whole body felt like it was still on fire. So, I was doing a lot of crying. . . . They guided us
out to the edge . . . of the grass because everybody was coming. . . . So they had us lay down, and
they were pouring some cold water on it to cool it off, because it was just that bad. . . . I'd say we
had to wait there for about twenty minutes because the traffic was so bad. It was all backed up,
and the ambulances were trying to get in. So it took awhile for the ambulances to get in. So
what they did was they tried to pick out . . . the victims that were the most . . . wounded. . . . I
know we waited for about twenty minutes. And in between that, they came over and tried to
console us. The chaplain came over and talked to us, read verses out of the Bible . . . to keep us
in high spirits, because it was -- it was just horrifying.
INTERVIEWER: Once you were put in the ambulance, where did you go? Where did they take you?
JACKSON: To the Arlington Hospital. [She talked of her hospital treatment.] I was in the
emergency room briefly, but . . . because I had smoke . . . they had to send me to the ICU
[intensive care unit]. They gave me that . . . ventilator . . . to clear out my lungs. . . . They gave
me two treatments of that because I think I had a lot of smoke at the time. I think I stayed in the ICU for about three days. I think I stayed in there until Thursday.
[On Friday, 14 September, she was transferred to Walter Reed Hospital.]
When it . . . [the plane crash] first happened, I actually didn't believe it. Actually, the honest truth, I thought I was dreaming it. So it took a few minutes for it to actually set in and I
actually felt my legs moving. That's when I actually felt that it was really happening. What
came across my mind . . . (because I'm also in the military, I'm in the Army Reserve) . . . were
two things. One, I know I had two kids and I was going to get out. And the other thing that
crossed my mind is the military always taught us never give up. So those were the two things
that strengthened me to get out of there.
INTERVIEWER: You are in the Army Reserve?
JACKSON: Yeah. [She is an E-5 (sergeant) in the 55th Maintenance and Materials Center
located on Fort Belvoir where she works in supply and automation.]
INTERVIEWER: Did anything else come out of all your training that you think helped you?
JACKSON: Yeah, I think the overall training . . . of how they . . . instilled in us . . . how to
fight and not to give up. I think all that leadership training . . . kicked in. . . . It made me want to
fight. I said, "I'm not going to die in here. I'm getting out of here." That's what I said.
INTERVIEWER: Do you remember any sounds from the impact of the plane?
JACKSON: That was the first thing. It sounded like a bomb. I thought it was a bomb, because,
I guess, maybe it was because the impact was so close and . . . it hit so fast. It's like you didn't
know what hit you. When it hit, it just threw us. It just threw us all over the room. And right
after that, at first, it was fire. Then, after that it was a big thick patch of smoke. That's all you
saw was smoke, and everything you touched was . . . like fire. Everything you touched, and stuff
was falling all over me. It was really, really, really, really terrible. . . . There were seven of us.
From what I know one of the guys didn't make it that was in the office. . . . He was nowhere to
be found.

[She discussed her efforts to pull a co-worker out of the building.]….Well, the only thing
I thought was striking is that I was able, as a soldier, . . . to pull her out and to help her.
INTERVIEWER: You went into military mode?
JACKSON: Yeah, I went into military mode, because she weighs way more than I do….But I
was able. . . even though my hands were all burned up, badly burned, . . . to pull her out.
INTERVIEWER: What about the pain? Were you numb?
JACKSON: I didn't feel the pain . . . especially because she was crying for my help. There was
no way I would have left her there. There's no way.
INTERVIEWER: How long did it take before the pain hit you?
JACKSON: It was like, all before, I was . . . numb or something. I guess it really. . . hadn't hit
me yet. But once I stepped . . . through that hole, that's when it hit me. Everything just hit . . . .

Janice A. Jackson, interview by Frank Shirer and Beau Whittington, 19 September 2001, DA-CMH

First Sergeant Jose Santiago, 311th Quartermaster Company (Mortuary Affairs)

From: The Role of the Army Reserve in the 11 September Attacks: The Pentagon

INTERVIEWER: What were you doing on 11 September when you first heard of the attack?
What was your reaction?
SANTIAGO: I was in my shop since I am an auto body worker on classic cars. The people at the shop came over and told me, “Hey, a plane just crashed into a Twin Tower in New York.” I said, “Well it was probably an accident.” Then they came back and told me, “No, there is another plane that crashed in the Pentagon, and it’s a terrorist.” So, I said let me lock up and go home. . . . I just went straight home and just kept watching the news for the rest of that week. I had drill on Friday, and about 9:30 [a.m.] they told me, “First Sergeant, we are moving.”
INTERVIEWER: 9:30 [a.m.] on 11 September?
SANTIAGO: No, on 14 September. So, as soon as my platoon sergeants came in, I told them, “Guys, we are moving.” We had a formation. After that we told the guys what was going on, that we were going on ADT [active duty for training] for sixteen days [until the beginning of the 2003 fiscal year]. I told them, “ . . . When the new fiscal year kicks in, we will be here for the long run.” So, we requested volunteers since all we needed was eighty-five soldiers. The first eighty-five soldiers were all volunteers . . . .
INTERVIEWER: Were there any difficulties in transitioning from the civilian to the Army life for yourself and for your personnel?
SANTIAGO: Not for myself. I consider myself a professional soldier. I’ve been in twenty-six years; seven years of those I was an active Army infantryman. . . . For some of my troops, it was kind of difficult because this is the first time they were called out. They are young kids . . . out of college, some of them recently graduated. Two females just recently got off an aircraft from AIT [advanced individual training] and a week later they are back in an aircraft coming back over here . . . .
INTERVIEWER: When you told the troops the orders were for sixteen days, what had you
been told about the mission in Washington?
SANTIAGO: Nothing, I just went by the orders. The experience that I have told me that it was not going to [be] sixteen days. . . . [We worked with the 54th Quartermaster Company, whose] main mission was to work with the FBI. At the time, the FBI thought that our mission and training was only on the collection of the [human] remains, . . . but then they find out that was not the case.

My people are trained. You can say they are like archeologists. They know what they are looking for, and they look for that thing that does not look normal. . . . They went through the rubble. It was non-stop twelve hours. They only had a break to eat something, and then they would go back into the rubble. They did what we call a grid search. They go down on a grid. They set some patterns and they recover portions of remains, important documents, to include documents of the terrorists. The FBI told us that the estimated time would be one month. My unit did it in two weeks. I believe it was . . . if I am not mistaken . . . either 50,000 or 75,000 tons of rubble. My unit went in two weeks and accomplished the mission. From there, we were moved to the Pentagon. The estimated time there was two months. The unit did it in one week.

[He discussed community support.] Everybody wanted to see who the 311th was. Who were these young boys and girls that gave up their civilian life and volunteered to come over here to do a job that nobody wants to do but someone has to do it? And while doing it, we know that we are at least putting pieces of life together. Whatever . . . pieces the soldiers found in the rubble . . . anything, a pen, a ring, at least would give someone something to remember their loved one by. And I always told them, “Gentlemen, this is very important. Not only myself, your families back home, but also the people in Washington will appreciate this for years to come. This is history.” I always remind them of that. Every morning I tell them, “Gentlemen, you can walk with your head high and feel proud because you are doing a mission that you were trained for. And you have done it not only with the best of your abilities, but you’ve done it above and beyond what was expected of you.”

Every time we would drive by the Pentagon, when we changed teams, the civilians on the hilltop by a gas station, they would applaud. I would say, “Hey, guys, that is for you.” A lot of people still want to see us. They want to see these young kids to thank us. Even when the commander, when he was somewhere in Washington, he walked into a place and some guy asked him, “Are you from here?” He said, “No, I am from Puerto Rico. My unit is the 311th from Puerto Rico.” That guy said, “Hey, guys, this is the commander of the 311th.” Everyone just stood up and started applauding. . . . So, everywhere we go, like the cadence says, “people want to know” who we are. So we tell them, “We are the 311th.”
INTERVIEWER: That type of support is invaluable, but what else is done to keep morale up? This is a stressful job.
SANTIAGO: Well, in our battalion, which we consider our battalion for life, they give us calling cards for the troops. I start with the privates, since they are the ones that make the less money. They gave every platoon sergeant cell phones. I passed those on to the platoon sergeants and told them these are for us to keep in touch ten percent of the day, and the other ninety percent is for the troops so they can call [their families] . . . .

When they found out that we were sent out here with only our military clothing, . . . they called [the Salvation Army] . . . and they gave us thick clothing, sweaters, jeans, long johns so the troops could keep warm. . . . AAFES [Army and Air Force Exchange Service], they were great. What can I say? When they found out, they sent us brown t-shirts, socks, and somehow they all joined forces, the Red Cross, AAFES and the Salvation Army. They did their own battle in supplying us. I would tell them we were the front line soldiers and they were our support. They were giving us water, food at the north parking lot, everything we needed. That helped a lot for the first weeks that we were here, all that support that was coming in.

We are still getting support from the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Just yesterday, the Red Cross found out last week that even though we had what the Salvation Army had given us…we did not have any jackets for cold weather or gloves. . . . We only had what the military had given us. And since being in the Army you are not allowed to mix civilian and military, the Red Cross said, “Give us a list of what they need, and we will pay for it.” They gave each soldier $150 [to buy cold weather clothing]. . . . I had senior NCOs [noncommissioned officers] that were busted on the second week because they had given money that they brought to their privates. All that joining together kept the unit morale above 100 percent. . . . Even though [the soldiers] were exhausted, they were putting in 100 percent. That is what makes this unit special.
INTERVIEWER: Is there anything that you would like to add?
SANTIAGO: Yes, . . . that being a Reserve unit, most people think that these guys are weekend warriors. My unit showed the regular Army that being just a Reserve unit or weekend warriors that we know our job, and we do it to standard and sometimes above standard. Even though we are weekend warriors, we are professionals . . . what you call a citizen and a soldier.

William G. Miller, tape recording with transcript, Fort Myer, Virginia, 24 October 2001

Sergeant First Class Jose N. Cruz, Platoon Sergeant, 311th Quartermaster Company (Mortuary Affairs)

From: The Role of the Army Reserve in the 11 September Attacks: The Pentagon

INTERVIEWER: What were you doing on 11 September when terrorists attacked the
Pentagon?
CRUZ: I was working. I am the UA [unit administrator] for the unit. That is my full time job. I am also a reservist. . . .
INTERVIEWER: What was your reaction when you first found out about the attack?
CRUZ: I was surprised. I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a movie or something. I arrived at Fort Buchanan, and when I went in they wouldn’t let me out. They closed all the gates. So I knew right there that something was going on.
INTERVIEWER: What was your first response to the attacks? You’re the unit administrator. What were you thinking?
CRUZ: I immediately called my unit, because I was away. I called my battalion and asked them what was going on. They told me that it was the same way where they were. The gates had been locked and no one could get out.
INTERVIEWER: How long did those procedures last? Do you know?
CRUZ: That was about 9:30 [a.m.], and I got to leave Fort Buchanan at about 1700 hours that afternoon.
INTERVIEWER: How did the attacks have an immediate affect on your life as far as being mobilized? When did you first hear of being mobilized?
CRUZ: Those attacks were on 11 September. The next day I had people calling the unit asking for names, numbers, how many people were ready to go. They were looking for information about the unit. On the 14th, there was a rumor we were deploying. On the 15th, it was a reality. We were gone.
INTERVIEWER: What did you do to prepare?
CRUZ: I knew that I would probably go somewhere. So I started preparing my uniforms and started getting everything ready, just in case anything happened. On the fifteenth, they told me I was moving, so here I am . . . .
INTERVIEWER: How about the Washington, D.C. community?
CRUZ: They are great! I am really surprised at Washington, D.C. When we first arrived, there was complete support for us. We were riding in the back of the deuce-and-a-half and people were clapping their hands and saying thank you. . . . That really makes you feel good. . . . When they said we are mobilizing, I was the first to raise my hand. I said, “Hey I’m going.” There was a group of eighty-five that left in the beginning. I was a part of that group. We volunteered to go . . .

That night [15 September] we started the first shift. We started working at night. When we got to the north parking lot, the FBI was there. . . . There were actually all kinds of agencies there. . . . They took us into a small tent and briefed us on what to do. . . . At that briefing, the FBI told us what they were looking for. We understood that night that the FBI was running the show. . . . They were looking for papers, passports, things like that . . . .
INTERVIEWER: When you first saw the Pentagon, what was your reaction?
CRUZ: I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I had watched the news and read the newspaper at home, but being there and seeing that big hole, it’s a totally different feeling.
INTERVIEWER: During these two phases of the operation, sifting through the rubble of the north parking lot and going through the personal effects, what was the high point and did you have a low point?
CRUZ: When I was in the north parking lot, I saw credit cards with names in the rubble.
Coming into the depot I’m still seeing those names, but now I’m seeing pictures. . . . I’m relating
faces to those names that I saw at the Pentagon, and that’s real hard. I’m one of the oldest guys
here. I have the experience because I was in the Persian Gulf and there my primary mission was personal effects, but it was hard.
INTERVIEWER: What was the most memorable moment?
CRUZ: The whole thing gave me pride, being there and working there. It feels good that I came here to the States looking for people. I know the family members appreciate that. The same thing with the personal effects. At the depot, when the family members or friends came to pick up the personal effects, they said thank you. They get to have back something that that person really loved and they love that...

I remember there was a general that came into the personal effects depot. He was outside worried because he lost his medical records. For us, being in the military, we know how important those are. When he came into the personal effects depot and one of the soldiers gave him a big ziploc bag with his medical records inside, he just jumped hysterically. He was so happy. I felt happy for him because I know what medical records mean . . . .
INTERVIEWER: Is there anything that you would like to add?
CRUZ: We are here and there have been rumors that we may be going somewhere else. To be honest, most of the guys want to go to New York. They don’t want to go home yet. We have the feeling that we can help out there. . . .

Sergeant First Class Jose N. Cruz, interview by Sergeant William G. Miller, tape recording and transcript, 26 October 2001

Special Agent Samuel Simon, Federal Bureau of Investigation

From: The Role of the Army Reserve in the 11 September Attacks: The Pentagon

INTERVIEWER: Could you tell me what you were doing on 11 September 2001?
SIMON: On 11 September, I came in to do my normal work. As I was driving in, on the radio,
WTOP, I learned about the Trade Center incident. I am a member of the Evidence Response
Team for the Washington field office. When I got into the office . . . [I], of course, heard about
the Pentagon. I was one of the first agents on the scene out at the Pentagon.
INTERVIEWER: How soon were you at the Pentagon?
SIMON: I would say myself and four other agents were there within ten minutes of the incident.
INTERVIEWER: When did you realize that you would need outside support from the Army or
a mortuary affairs unit?
SIMON: From the Army, specifically, I realized as I was coming over the bridge [that I was
going to need support]. This was going to be a major undertaking. It was going to take
everybody: local authorities, state authorities, federal authorities, and military. . . . The Pentagon
was the best location for a tragedy like this to occur because we lacked for no resources . . . .
I believe that it was day three, was Friday when I was given twenty-three individuals and
I was told by my management that we were beginning to do this operation in the north parking
lot. Basically, the operation in the north parking lot was . . . excavating areas of the Pentagon
that had been searched already at the scene for remains. Then they were taking that excavation
and taking it to the north parking lot for sifting operation. So that very first day, that Friday
evening, I went over the hill with twenty-three people.
INTERVIEWER: FBI agents?
SIMON: It was a mish-mash of federal and local authorities. . . . I believe it was Sunday, no, I
believe it was Monday . . . when the first contingency of the 311th reported on the scene. . . .
They were already there, but they had not gotten their marching orders yet. . . . Saturday was the
first full day of work. After the first full day of work, . . . we realized we would need a lot more
assistance. . . . I did direct liaison with the CO [commanding officer], Lieutenant Martinez and
the other commander from the 311th.
INTERVIEWER: What was your first impression of the 311th?
SIMON: I was four and a half years regular Army and two years National Guard. So I had both
sides of the fence. . . . I had no preconceived notions at all like "I am getting a Reserve unit and
they are going to be a bunch of reservists, you know, part-timers." I knew that there are a lot of
good units out there. I remember speaking to them toward the end of the operation. I told them
and I meant it, “I would stack that unit up . . . with any regular Army or National Guard unit that
I ever served in.” They were a fantastic bunch of people.
I never dealt with a mortuary detail. I was thinking, I was in infantry myself, and I was
thinking mortuary detail. What kind of a soldier is going to come out of a mortuary detail? But
they were topnotch people. . . . I can’t remember how many times when I needed something to
get done I would look around and see ten or twenty civilians, federal agents or local officers. . .
This is . . . something I want the Army to do. I would go right to the first sergeant of the 311th
or the platoon sergeant from the Old Guard and say, “Sergeant, I don’t mean to bother you, but
could you help me out? Could I get this taken care of?” They would reply, “No problem, agent
Simon.” And it was done. . . .
We were given two individuals from the FBI hazardous materials unit who oversaw the
[decontamination], but we were deconning three hundred people for lunch and for breaks and for
shift changes. That is a lot of people to run through a decon line. The 311th gave up fifteen to
eighteen soldiers each shift that did nothing but decon. They did an excellent job and are well
equipped for it. . . .
INTERVIEWER: Could we discuss some of the work procedures that the 311th followed?
What phases did you work with them and how did they change?
SIMON: They were at the scene, like I said, the very second day. Their primary mission there
was the mortuary detail, remains recovery. . . . Basically, we teamed up five individuals from the
311th with the dog units. We would take a pile of rubble from the Pentagon, and we would
spread it out along the parking lot. Then the dogs would go through it. If they alerted on an
area, then the five-person team from the 311th would concentrate on that area to locate the
remains . . . .
We had two piles [of rubble] and they were probably three to four stories high. We had
pieces of concrete and steel in there that were larger than three or four human beings. . . . We had
two sites operating. We had a five-man team on site A and a five-man team on site B. The
remaining 311th crew was working in the regular work force finding all this other stuff, the
evidence, personal effects, and classified materials, and what not after the regular work force
went through it a second time. Then we had the dogs go through a third time, an overabundance
of caution. . . . Whenever remains were recovered, the 311th took the remains over, properly
packaged them, and then stayed with the remains till they were transported off to the temporary
mortuary. That was their primary function out there, but they did much more than that.
We only had ten-man teams working on the remains recovery. We had a fifteen-soldier
team working on the NBC [nuclear, biological, and chemical] lines. That was yeomen’s work
because . . . you were out in an open area unprotected from the elements. There were a couple of
days when it got into the nineties. You were in full NBC gear. That exacerbated the weather
element and to sit there and bend over. Oftentimes, these people were on their hands and knees
going through this rubble with their hands or hand rakes. To sit there and rake and shovel and
sift through this rubble is just backbreaking work . . . .
The other things they assisted with were raising tents, moving gear. We had a separate
decon site that I affectionately referred to as "tent city." We had our break areas. We had the
Salvation Army and the Red Cross down there providing hot meals. We even had a chapel set
up for the chaplains.
INTERVIEWER: It sounds like Unity City?
SIMON: Exactly, we had our own little version of Unity City, way scaled down. The Old
Guard and the 311th basically built that city from scratch for us . . . .
INTERVIEWER: How long did you work with the 311th at the incident site?
SIMON: Sixteenth through I believe the last day was the 28th. They came on the 16th, I
believe, the full time we were there till we locked up shop. As a matter of fact, they were the last
people to leave with us. They helped pack up . . . .
INTERVIEWER: How would you describe the 311th’s professionalism and morale?
SIMON: Like I said, their professionalism was exemplary. They were one of the best units I
have worked with, and I have worked with a lot of units. . . . There was not a whole lot of joking
and smoking going on down there [at the Pentagon], because like you said, it was probably one
of the most important missions. I know for a fact that it was the most important mission I have
ever been on in my military service or in my government service. Nothing I have ever done had
ever compared to the work we did at the Pentagon. Everyone knew that going in. The focus of
the entire [operation] here and the country as a whole was going to be on what happened at the
Pentagon, at least from the military point of view. It seemed that the entire nation was concerned
about the New York incident and rightfully so because those were civilian casualties. But, as far
as military personnel goes, that was probably the most important mission we have done in
decades. It was exemplary the way they handled their mission . . . .
I had a nice, long talk with the first sergeant about [the] 311th’s main mission, this
mortuary detail. . . . I asked him, “How do you recruit anybody to come to your unit?” It is not a
high profile job. He told me stories about how when recruits first come in, he brings them into
his office and asks them, “Do you understand what this unit is all about?”

Samuel Simon, interview by Sergeant William Miller, tape recording with transcript, 12 December 2001

Another Entry for the New York Daily News

A completely new resource for me is a six-year-old web effort at awarding honors for taking pictures on September 11, 2001, and its aftermath---The Best of Photojournalism 2002. The Internet Archive has never heard of these pages before, so I don't know when they went up online. Almost the whole batch is unfamiliar to me (and where they are familiar, they are all part of the same entry,) which leads me to think they are of recent public vintage.

Ho hum.

Holocaust survivor at 9:50AM is brought by ambulance to Long Island College hospital on Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn,NY


People react in utter disbelief as the first twin tower collapses as viewed from the Hicks Street promenade in Brooklyn, NY.

Family members attend funeral mass at St. Mathias church in Somerset, NJ for New York firefighter John M. Collins Ladder #25 who died at the WTC on Sept.11.

World Trade Center widow Jennifer Nilsen sits on her front stoop with her two children Scott,5, who is autisic and Ryan,3, Staten Island, NY

Fireman takes down flag from between two ladders after the Funeral mass at Church of St. Clare for firefighter Brian Cannizzaro from ladder 101 who died at the WTC on Sept. 11. Staten Island, NY

Nicholas Giordano,8, tries on his dad's helmet while his mom Marie stands by at firefighter , who died at the WTC on Sept.11, Jeff Giordano's funeral mass ,Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Staten Island, NY

Debbie Calandrillo stands by the tree she tied with yellow ribbons in front of her house in Brooklyn, NY and shows picture of her missing husband Joseph who was at the World Trade Center on Sept.11.

New York Firefighter Captain Timothy Stackpole with three of his five children after being awarded Man of the Year at the Great Irish Fair on Sept. 9th two days before he died at the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11th terrorist attack.

Weary New York Firefighters walk towards the World Trade Center past City Hall where "WAR" has been written in the dust from the collapse of the twin towers on a car windscreen. New York,NY

Birds fly over City Hall as the dust and debris from the collapse of 7 World Trade Center fills the sky on Sept. 11 at 5:30PM, NY,NY.

Vikal Kapoor looks up to sky where the twin towers used to stand before their collapse today after a terrorist airplane attack. Park row, NY,NY.

Injured man is brought to Long Island College hospital on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn, NY