American Phoenix

Lincoln M. Starnes

Description

“That day, I saw humanity at its best and worst. Humanity doesn’t have race, creed, or color—not when you look into the very souls of people.” —Christopher Braman, Army Sgt. 1st Class (ret.)

The terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, were intended to tear apart the fabric of our country and our democracy. Instead, this brazen act served to show the world the heart of a nation and the true meaning of “united we stand.” The heroes at the Pentagon were extraordinary civilians and soldiers who made decisions to sacrifice their own safety to render aid to complete strangers. Twenty years later, these stories serve as a reminder of what it truly means to be American.

Meticulously researched and told with respect and reverence, American Phoenix sheds light on the remarkable individuals and events of that day, revealing stories never before told. Starting from the date the builders of the Pentagon broke ground on September 11, 1941, and culminating in the national Pentagon Memorial dedication in 2008, this is a tribute to those who sacrificed everything so that others might live.

Sujets

• Histoire
• American Airlines Flight 11
• War on Terror
• Charles Burlingame
• Flight 93
• Department of Defence
• United Airlines Flight 175
• Terrorism
• September 11
• American Airlines Flight 77
• 21st Century
• United States
• History
• Guerre contre le terrorisme
• Violence
• 9

Informations

• Publié par: Girl Friday Books
• Date de parution: 28 juin 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781734880250
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Copyright © 2021 by Lincoln M. Starnes
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Poem “Nothing More Than This” © Lincoln M. Starnes

Published by Girl Friday Books™, Seattle
Produced by Girl Friday Productions in association with Little Martha Press
girlfridayproductions.com
littlemarthapress.com
Cover design: David Drummond
Development & editorial: Karen McNally Upson with Dan Crissman
Production editorial: Laura Dailey
Project management: Karen McNally Upson
Image credits: cover © Shutterstock/Douglas Litchfield
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-7348802-3-6
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-7348802-4-3
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-7348802-5-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021905552
First edition

For those who gave their lives so that others might live free

“The United States is like a gigantic boiler. Once the fire is lit under it, there is no limit to the power it can generate.”
—Winston Churchill

Nothing More Than This
He heard no distant trumpet
As he faced the fires alone
He wore no gleaming medals
No light upon him shone
There were no saints before him
Nor seraphs by his side
There was only prayer
To give him strength
As those around him died
He thought to turn
And run away
To reach the light
Once more
But the darkness
Held his brothers
His sisters huddled
Near the floor
Gravely wounded
And defenseless
He charged the black abyss
For home and hearth
And brotherhood
And nothing
More than this
He carried them all
To safety
From the grip
Of the demon fire
But he alone
Would pay the price
For the cause
Of something higher
They found him
In the morning
Amid the ashes
And the stone
His body
Burned and broken
His face
And name
Unknown
The arms of God
Close round him now
He’s shining
In the midst
Of home
And hearth
And brotherhood
And nothing
More than this

Contents
Preface
Foreword: America the Phoenix, by Benjamin W. Starnes
Map of the Pentagon
Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001
Prologue
I. September Skies
II. Terror Stew
III. A Voice in the Darkness
IV. The Living and the Dead
V. Shadows
Epilogue: Phoenix Rising
Author’s Notes
In Remembrance
Interviews
Sources
Acknowledgments
Disclaimer
About the Author

Preface
This project was first proposed to me by my brother, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin W. Starnes of the United States Army Medical Corps, and his colleagues Lieutenant Colonel James Goff, USAMC, and Lieutenant Colonel Ed Lucci, USAMC, all of whom responded within the first hour to the attack at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. They wanted to record their recollections of this event, and they asked me to assemble their memoirs into one manuscript.
I accepted, but found that when I completed their story it did not amount to enough material for a major nonfiction book. I cast around for other published accounts of this event to round out the narrative, but found to my dismay that such sources were almost nonexistent. At that point I decided to write a complete account of the attack on the Pentagon on that one day from the perspective of those who were there, incorporating the memories of my brother and his colleagues.
The task, I soon discovered, was monumental. I pored over hundreds of accounts and statements to try to find out what really happened. I also conducted a series of in-depth interviews of the principal participants. The description of the plane crash is based on numerous eyewitness accounts and on established facts contained in The Pentagon Building Performance Report by the American Society of Civil Engineers (January 2003), a comprehensive technical assessment of the crash and its aftereffects made by several of the world’s foremost structural engineers. I also visited the Pentagon in August 2002 and investigated the site of the attack.
The full picture, however, will always remain out of reach. Many of the scenes depicted aboard American Airlines Flight 77 and in the initial moments of the crash were dramatized using a combination of what little factual information has come down to us, the statements of family and friends, personality profiles of certain individuals, and, where possible, actual eyewitness accounts. I have tried my best to do justice to the memory of those who perished.
As a result of writing this book, I found one thing that consistently reappeared time after time, and this was the courage, self-sacrifice, and heroism of Pentagon personnel who, in a matter of seconds, were thrown into a terrifying maelstrom of death and destruction and who just as quickly rose to the challenge. This is their story.
Lincoln M. Starnes

Foreword
America the Phoenix
by Benjamin W. Starnes
It has been twenty years since that fateful day in September that changed our world forever in so many ways. The attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, has largely been overshadowed by the nearly simultaneous attacks on the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. While often not discussed in detail, 189 people perished at the Pentagon that day, which, exclusive of the events in New York City, would have made the attack there the largest terrorist attack on American soil since the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. The searing memories of that as my colleagues and I responded to the Pentagon are never far from my mind. As a witness, physician, husband, father, son, and soldier, the feelings I experienced that day were those of horror, sadness, anger, dejection, resilience, and pride.
The acts of heroism and bravery that ensued minutes after the impact of Flight 77 against the west wall of the Pentagon have seldom been written about. Although obscure names like Christopher Braman, Craig Powell, David Tarantino, Tony Rose, Victor Correa, Eduardo Brunoporto, Isaac Ho’opi’i, and Phil McNair are little known to American history twenty years later, they should be household names and held in reverence. These were individuals who spent their whole lives and careers working to serve their country and had secured a place at one of the most revered and protected places on earth, the “cream of the crop” working diligently at a premier establishment. Everything they did that day embodies what we know to be the best of America. Contrary to some opinions, these soldiers were prepared for this event. They leaped to action using their training and experience to save lives. In retrospect, the terrorists’ decision to aim the jet at the Pentagon was foolish, as it only emboldened those serving in uniform for a decade or more to come. The terrorists doubted America’s resolve to stand together. They were wrong.
In February 2020, a new and invisible threat reached our shores. The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc and destruction on our families, our economy, and our way of life. Having been a witness to the valiance of the heroes at the Pentagon and those serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have seen Americans at their best. Courageous, fearless, self-sacrificing, unwavering, and unafraid, these heroes provide us with a strong example of what we are capable of when we are united together and care for one another. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “This, too, shall pass.” America will forever rise again as an American phoenix. The acts of selflessness displayed in this book give the reader some insight as to why this is truth.
My brother, Lincoln Starnes, spent years after 9/11 compiling all of these stories, conducting interviews, and assembling the story of the Pentagon. It was a massive effort and a labor of allegiance and reverence. He is not someone who would normally talk about himself or tout his own efforts, but I strongly believe he wrote this book out of his profound love of this country. He shelved the project shortly after completing it because of lack of interest by publishers and media organizations. America seemed to simply want to move on from that day. After a few glasses of whiskey late one night in the summer of 2018, Linc and I decided to proceed with publishing this book to ensure the legacy of these heroes would not be forgotten.

Map of the Pentagon September 11, 2001


Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001
A Timeline
7:59 a.m.—American Airlines Flight 11 leaves Boston for Los Angeles
8:14 a.m.—United Airlines Flight 175 leaves Boston for Los Angeles
8:20 a.m.—American Airlines Flight 77 departs Washington Dulles for Los Angeles
8:42 a.m.—United Airlines Flight 93 departs Newark for San Francisco
8:46:40 a.m.—American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center
9:03:11 a.m.—United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center
9:17 a.m.—FAA shuts down all New York City–area airports
9:21 a.m.—Port Authority closes all bridges/tunnels into and out of Manhattan
9:24 a.m.—FAA notifies NORAD of the possibility that American Airlines Flight 77 has been hijacked
9:24 a.m.—NORAD scrambles three F-16 fighter jets from Langley AFB Virginia
9:25 a.m.—FAA initiates national “ground stop,” grounding all departing flights and closing airports nationwide
9:28 a.m.—United Airlines Flight 93 is hijacked over Ohio
9:30 a.m.—F-16 fighter jets take off for Washington, DC, from Langley AFB Virginia
9:31 a.m.—President Bush, speaking in Sarasota, Florida, states that the attacks are the work of terror