Trauma "Subsides Over The Years, But It Never Goes Away"
The emotional trauma caused by memories of the September 11,
2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon have dulled some for survivor
Patrick Smith, but the pain will never leave him.
"It's an image that haunted [me] repeatedly for at least the
first couple of years," he said. "I guess the trauma of it subsides
over the years, but it never goes away."
Smith, an information management specialist for the Army's
deputy chief of staff for personnel, spoke to the Pentagon Channel
last week before the seven-year anniversary of the morning
hijackers drove American Airlines Flight 77 into a section of the
Pentagon next to Smith's office.
His desk sat in a second-floor office on the western side of the
building, in the middle of the Pentagon's five concentric rings. A
nearby coworker watching television informed Smith and his
colleagues that an airplane had struck one of the World Trade
Center towers in New York City.
The initial confusion crystallized into clear and present
danger, as footage appeared showing another plane barreling into
the second tower. "Certainly when the second plane hit, all of us
knew this was a terrorist action going on," he recalled.
Smith, like other coworkers, intermittently checked back at the
TV for updates. Around 9:40 am, as he approached the TV, he heard a
loud crash.
"I could see the top of the wall coming inward," he recalled.
"At the same time, the ceiling tiles started falling from the
ceiling, wires were starting to fall. Of course, this seemed like a
long period of time. Actually, it was probably fractions of
seconds."
The power shorted. The office fell black. Then a burst of fire
ripped through the ceiling toward Smith.
"I could basically hear the hairs on my head, the hairs on my
arms, crackling from the intense heat -- prior to any flame ever
touching me," he recalled. "The fireball starting advancing towards
me, and momentarily I was frozen until I really got the sense of
what was going on," he said. "I started to turn and get away, and I
noticed one of my coworkers basically inside the fireball, waving
her arms.
"I stood there hoping she could keep on coming. I was at a
standstill. Do I go in to try and get her? Do I wait for her to
come out?" he said. "Unfortunately, she basically went down, and I
just couldn't find her again."
Smith crawled along the floor until he could feel the sprinkler
system spraying him. He evacuated the building and received medical
treatment shortly after.
Though Smith survived, the attack would claim the lives of 184
victims, to whom the Pentagon Memorial -- a two-acre park near the
point of impact with an illuminated sculptural element and lighted
reflecting pool in memory of each person lost -- will be dedicated
next week,
as ANN reported last weekend.
Smith, who received the Defense of Freedom Medal, the civilian
equivalent of the military's Purple Heart, said the interview was
the first time he'd spoken out about his experience.
"It wasn't until just this past anniversary last year that I did
go out to Arlington [National Cemetery] with one of my coworkers
who was injured as a result," he said. "And it was a good feeling
to pay tribute to those resting in Arlington right now."
(Aero-News thanks John J. Kruzel, American Forces Press
Service)