President Obama spoke Tuesday at a ceremony at the Pentagon, saying, "As painful as this day is and always will be, it leaves us with a lesson that no single event can ever destroy who we are." CBS 21 spoke with an Army Colonel who was inside when the Boeing 757, traveling at 345 mph, crashed into the west side of the building.
Within 30 minutes of two planes hitting the World Trade Center, American Airline Flight 77 departed Dulles International Airport bound for Los Angeles. The plane was loaded with 10,000 gallons of fuel when it took out parking lot light poles, hit the ground and penetrated the outer ring of the Pentagon.
“At 9:45 American Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, claiming the lives of all 59 passengers and 125 personnel inside the Pentagon,” was read at a ceremony Tuesday.
The blast from the plane and the toxic gas and heat from the resulting fire are responsible for many of the deaths. But some people working in the Pentagon were unaware of the crash.
Lt. Col. Timothy Holman, living in Carlisle now as a student at the US Army War College, heard the crash. He says a simple decision he made that morning probably saved his life.
"That morning I opted to go to the post office instead of going to another director to deliver a catalog,” explained Lt. Col. Holman. “At the time the post office was at the opposite side of where the plane crashed.”
"Later that night, I was tasked to work in the crisis action center,” Holman continued. “That's where we were taking casualty and body counts. At that time I noticed that the person I was supposed to deliver the catalog to was one of the names on the list.”
"So had I taken the catalog back instead of going to the post office, I would probably have been a casualty myself,” Holman told CBS 21.
But his military career continued forward. Since that day, he has served in two tours in Germany, also Iraq and Afghanistan and is currently studying at the US Army War College.
He expresses disappointment that he never got the chance to assist with rescue and recovery of the victims. As for ceremonies, like Tuesday’s, he has a surreal feeling and he remembers two friends he lost that day.
Within 30 minutes of two planes hitting the World Trade Center, American Airline Flight 77 departed Dulles International Airport bound for Los Angeles. The plane was loaded with 10,000 gallons of fuel when it took out parking lot light poles, hit the ground and penetrated the outer ring of the Pentagon.
“At 9:45 American Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, claiming the lives of all 59 passengers and 125 personnel inside the Pentagon,” was read at a ceremony Tuesday.
The blast from the plane and the toxic gas and heat from the resulting fire are responsible for many of the deaths. But some people working in the Pentagon were unaware of the crash.
Lt. Col. Timothy Holman, living in Carlisle now as a student at the US Army War College, heard the crash. He says a simple decision he made that morning probably saved his life.
"That morning I opted to go to the post office instead of going to another director to deliver a catalog,” explained Lt. Col. Holman. “At the time the post office was at the opposite side of where the plane crashed.”
"Later that night, I was tasked to work in the crisis action center,” Holman continued. “That's where we were taking casualty and body counts. At that time I noticed that the person I was supposed to deliver the catalog to was one of the names on the list.”
"So had I taken the catalog back instead of going to the post office, I would probably have been a casualty myself,” Holman told CBS 21.
But his military career continued forward. Since that day, he has served in two tours in Germany, also Iraq and Afghanistan and is currently studying at the US Army War College.
He expresses disappointment that he never got the chance to assist with rescue and recovery of the victims. As for ceremonies, like Tuesday’s, he has a surreal feeling and he remembers two friends he lost that day.