Today is the 23rd anniversary of 9/11.
On this day we remember the lives lost and the lives forever changed by the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor.
Out of the remnants of that day a Mission was born: we pledged to never forget and to strive to never allow such an egregious act of terror to happen again.
Today there is an entire generation who were not alive yet nor old enough to remember 9/11. For those of us who were called to serve in the 9/11 Mission, it changed the entire trajectory of our lives. We were honored to play a part in how America rose to that challenge. We encourage those who did not experience the event firsthand to ask those who lived through it about our experiences that fateful day so that you may better understand. For those of us who were there, we can share the gut-wrenching pain we felt that day as well as the pride about how we came together as a Nation in the days that followed. This year, we wanted to share actual memories from members of our Firm who lived through that fateful day:
Michael Chertoff: I was assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division. I was driving into the office and speaking to my deputy on the car phone. He said: “oh, a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center.” We thought it was a small plane in which there was a grievous pilot error. As we talked, he had the TV on and then he said that a second plane had hit. We realized this was a terrorist attack.
I immediately went to the FBI ops center and met with Director Mueller. We learned of the Pentagon attack and the fourth airliner that was brought down over Shanksville. The AG was on travel so Mueller and I managed the immediate response to shut down further attacks. This meant collecting Intel on who were the hijackers and following financial and other links between them and al Qaeda leaders and between them and other individuals present in the US. That day was the beginning of weeks and months of singular focus on developing an architecture for counterterrorism.
Brian Hess: Like most people, 9/11 was a defining moment in my life and career. That day changed the landscape of my military service for the next two decades. On September 11th, 2001, I was stationed with the 5th Security Forces Squadron at Minot AFB, North Dakota. The attacks coincided with an annual DOD nuclear training drill called Global Guardian. Although the attacks were thousands of miles away from us, the ripples from the response were felt at our base as we scrambled to defend our nation’s highest-level assets during this chaotic time.
I remember the uncertainty of that day and thinking how life was going to change for all of us, forever. In the days that followed, everyone was on high alert, and there was much confusion about potential threats. I recall multiple false reports coming into our base defense operations center from people who thought they saw “attackers” hopping the base perimeter fence.
Seven days after the attacks, with no prior notice or preparation, I and 25 others from Minot were tasked to deploy in response. Our two squads arrived in-country within four days of our tasking, and we set up bare-base operations for “Operation Infinite Justice” (which shortly after became “Operation Enduring Freedom”). For the next eight months, our teams secured what grew into the largest base in theater, ensuring air assets could successfully carry out their campaign against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces.
Kathy Barness: I was a stay-at-home mom on 9/11. My house is not far from the Pentagon. My house shook when the plane hit the Pentagon and then you could smell the smoke. The next day, a kitchen cabinet fell off my wall due to the house shaking the day before. My children were at the Potomac School in McLean, Va which is about 25 minutes away. I was trying to get to them because their school was across the Chain Bridge Road from the CIA. At the beginning, we did not know how many more planes were involved, and what they were going to hit next. I just had a sense of disbelief that this was actually happening.
Adam Isles: I was in US District Court in Alexandria – Tuesday was “initial appearance” day, when people who’d been arrested over the weekend were brought before Magistrates.
I was getting ready for that – went to the cafeteria to get a bagel and ran into the court reporter from a case I had just prosecuted. He told me about WTC 1 – I thought it was an accident because I grew up in Manhattan and we had near misses before. By the time I got to court, it was clear this was no accident. We were a few miles south of the Pentagon, and no sooner had we started than the clerk’s phone rang, and after conferring with her, the Judge reported the building was being evacuated. The courthouse is 10 stories high, and the lobby on each floor has windows. You could see the smoke coming from the Pentagon as we left.
Both my parents lived in Manhattan – my Mom happened to be in Connecticut and I was able to get her by phone before she had intended to head back to the City. I didn’t reach my Dad until around 11PM because the phone circuits were down/tied up. But I was really fortunate: none of my family or friends were in WTC.
I think some of the best parts of New York come from its Dutch heritage – its merchant culture, which makes it welcoming to all peoples. To me, the attack was a direct strike at that culture.
I consider a lot of what I have done in my career since then an attempt at striking a national balance – securing our borders (physical and cyber so to speak) so we can grow our economy and preserve our values.
Veronica Gilbert: I remember 9/11/2001 very vividly. I had just gotten to the office, like most of us. I was working at the corporate headquarters of NaturaLawn of America located in Frederick, Maryland. The firm had a large conference room with a big screen TV. I remember someone saying there’s been a horrible plane accident in New York, and everyone headed for the conference room to see what was happening. As we watched the coverage, the second plane hit. The feeling in the pit of my stomach as we all realized we were under attack is something I’ll never forget. My son was only seven months old at the time and I remember thinking, “What kind of world is he going to grow up in? Will he be safe? Will he be free?” Still brings tears to my eyes. The events of that day forever changed my outlook on the rest of the world, how cruel it can be, and how lucky I am to be an American.
Lee Kair: From 23 July to 7 September of 2001, I was fulfilling my 45 Day reserve duty in the USAF as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) on the e-Ring of the Pentagon. I had taken the time off from my civilian job at CACI to fulfil my military duty as the special assistant to the Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy on OSD Staff and then take a week of vacation afterward. On Saturday September 8th, my wife and I boarded a flight with my 18-month-old twins to see my mother, father, and sister in Fort Myers. We had booked a beach house on the beach, with a pool, and were looking forward to a relaxing time with family.
On Sep 11th, my mother was at our house visiting as we watched the events unfold. I was struck that the month prior, I had been working on the opposite side of the building where the plane made impact. I was very worried about the safety of my friends and colleagues I had worked with just the week prior. Like everyone, I was unable to contact anyone to determine if they were injured or even alive. My whole family was devastated, but I was glad we were all together to comfort each other, and that my family did not have to worry about my safety or status.
On Thursday, we started trying to figure out how to get back to DC with all flights cancelled. We were finally able to rent a car one way from Ft Myers to DC, starting on Sunday.
Then on Friday the 13th, a severe tropical storm hit Ft. Myers beach. It had hurricane strength winds, but was not designated with a name, because it happened so quickly, and everyone in the country was re-occupied. The house flooded, several of the streets washed out, and we lost power.
We left on Sunday and drove straight through back to DC. We lived about ½ mile south of the Pentagon in Shirlington. Before we even went to our house, we drove to the Pentagon to see the damage. Emergency vehicles were still on site making the building safe. There were cranes and bulldozers on the site creating a tremendous amount of dust making it appear the building was still burning. The building was surrounded by armored vehicles. As my wife and I looked at the spectacle, I made the decision to get back into the fight – I just wasn’t yet sure how.
Several weeks later, I met Ashely Lewis and a few others at USCG HQ who were involved in coordinating with the new Office of Homeland Security, run by Governor Ridge. She pointed out a new job opening on her staff, and I applied. In March of 2002, I quit my civilian job at CACI and joined the USCG as a civil servant, with the intention of joining the newly formed DHS. When DHS was formalized, I moved from the USCG to DHS HQ as a plank holder, while remaining an active USAF Reservist at the Pentagon. I transitioned from DHS to TSA 18 months later where I remained for the next 14 years.
The events of 9-11 affected me deeply and personally. I am thankful I was presented with an opportunity to help shape the new Department, the newly formed TSA, and provide service to the country at such a crucial time in history.
Ellen Murray: I was the mom of young children on 9/11. I was a PR consultant and we lived on the west coast, just east of the Cascade Mountains. I was supposed to drive to Seattle that morning. My friend and old DC roommate, who lived in Seattle called and asked me if I had my TV on. I turned on the Today Show and seconds later the second tower collapsed. It was unbelievable. I remember that fighter jets were circling all American cities that day and everything was closed. There were fears other cities would be attacked.
In the days ahead, my son, who was four at the time, kept crashing his little toy airplanes into his building blocks. I had a strong desire to get on a bus and go help in NYC, which I couldn’t do because of my young family. I had a deep knowing that at some point I’d have an opportunity to contribute. I’m not sure where that certainty came from but four years later, I found myself in a position to apply for a role in the second Bush Administration and not long after that, I joined TSA Public Affairs and moved back to Virginia. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to serve the post-9/11 mission. #notonourwatch
Aaron Roth: I was serving on a patrol boat in Key West, Florida when the tragedy unfolded, and I was immediately deployed to a variety of locations like so many other service men and women. I recall a vivid sense of patriotism like I had never witnessed in my lifetime. While we will never forget that awful day, our country could certainly benefit from even a dose of the unity that we had then.
Chad Sweet: I was working in Goldman’s old headquarters a few blocks from the base of the World Trade Center. We were in the office early on a call advising AT&T on the largest raid defense in US history to stop Comcast’s attempted hostile acquisition of multiple cable assets. The call started at 8:30am and I distinctly remember hearing the first plane hit at 8:46am. When the Tower’s collapsed, the debris covered our building. Goldman security wouldn’t let us leave until the smoke had cleared and there was a safe passage out. The horrible images I saw once outside has been indelibly burned in my memory to this day.
There was a tremendous surge of national unity unlike anything I had ever seen in my lifetime. I knew then if I had the chance to go after those who did this to us, I would take it. Fortunately, after having previously served in the CIA, I was given that chance to return to public service and it changed my life forever. I left Goldman and joined DHS working with an incredibly inspiring leader, Secretary Chertoff, who was the right man at the right moment. He gave up his dream of a lifetime appointment serving as a Federal Judge when the President asked him to answer again a call of duty to serve the Nation. I will go to my grave feeling a sense of pride that I was privileged to work with Secretary Chertoff and those who stood up DHS and implemented sweeping historic changes that secured our Homeland. The success of those changes is underscored by this fact: according to the National Counterterrorism Center terrorism database, after 9/11 until the end of the Bush Administration, over 22,000 innocent men, women and children were killed in terrorist attacks but not one of those deaths occurred on US soil.
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As Americans, we give thanks for the freedoms we hold dear. Nearly 3,000 people were robbed of those freedoms 23 years ago. Today, we join with all Americans from every walk of life to take a moment today to remember all those who bravely responded and those who lost their lives. We look forward to pausing and taking paid leave to do an important service project today together as a Team as an active act of remembrance.
We will never forget.
