9/11 Pentagon survivor remembers the attack
Updated: Sep 09, 2016 11:05 PM EST
By Nicole Crites
As we approach the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attack, we remember as a nation that terrible day in history.
Fifteen years later, it’s remarkable that we are still hearing new stories from survivors.
One of the survivors of the Pentagon attack is firefighter Alan Wallace. He was in Phoenix Friday to share his story at a fundraiser for the “Military Assistance Mission.”
“There was no warning as to what was in front of us or what was about to happen,” says Wallace, who says he still thinks about the attack every day.
Wallace was in charge of the 3-man crew at the Pentagon getting ready for President George W. Bush's arrival.
When the first two hijacked commercial jets hit the Twin Towers, those at the Pentagon had no idea another plane was coming straight for them until they heard that unmistakable sound.
It was Wallace's radio call for help that first confirmed which target near DC had been hit.
“We have had a commercial airliner crash into the west side of the Pentagon.”
Wallace jumped into action, doing the best he could with the bare minimum.
He had no helmet, no gloves and no mask. He crawled into the Pentagon with a lantern and a fire extinguisher.
“I hear a woman yell ‘hey’ and it startled me so much,” he remembers. “All I could say was ‘hey,’ and one of us said ‘we can’t see you’ and this lady claps her hand twice.”
They helped that woman find her way out.
“This fellow comes by, grabs me and says, ‘if you can push me into this window, we can get these people out of the building’ and so that's what we did.”
Wallace figures they rescued about a dozen people from that one window.
Operations at the Pentagon, the central command for our military, never ceased, despite the building collapse, evacuation, fire and ankle-deep jet fuel pooling.
But the 6.5 million-square-foot fortress was, sadly, almost as effective as trapping victims “in” as it was keeping enemies “out.”
“I knew we were in trouble,” Wallace says.
Wallace doesn't think of himself as a hero. He says he was just doing his job.
“I can assure you that neither mark nor Dennis nor I would ever think that anything we did was heroic,” he says. “We just were in a position to do something.”
So, they gave their all, working while hurt to help as many people as they could.
184 people died at the Pentagon that day… a day Wallace, and the rest of us will never forget.Updated: Sep 09, 2016 11:05 PM EST
By Nicole Crites
(Source: KPHO/KTVK)
(Source: KPHO/KTVK)
PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) -
As we approach the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attack, we remember as a nation that terrible day in history.
Fifteen years later, it’s remarkable that we are still hearing new stories from survivors.
One of the survivors of the Pentagon attack is firefighter Alan Wallace. He was in Phoenix Friday to share his story at a fundraiser for the “Military Assistance Mission.”
“There was no warning as to what was in front of us or what was about to happen,” says Wallace, who says he still thinks about the attack every day.
Wallace was in charge of the 3-man crew at the Pentagon getting ready for President George W. Bush's arrival.
When the first two hijacked commercial jets hit the Twin Towers, those at the Pentagon had no idea another plane was coming straight for them until they heard that unmistakable sound.
It was Wallace's radio call for help that first confirmed which target near DC had been hit.
“We have had a commercial airliner crash into the west side of the Pentagon.”
Wallace jumped into action, doing the best he could with the bare minimum.
He had no helmet, no gloves and no mask. He crawled into the Pentagon with a lantern and a fire extinguisher.
“I hear a woman yell ‘hey’ and it startled me so much,” he remembers. “All I could say was ‘hey,’ and one of us said ‘we can’t see you’ and this lady claps her hand twice.”
They helped that woman find her way out.
“This fellow comes by, grabs me and says, ‘if you can push me into this window, we can get these people out of the building’ and so that's what we did.”
Wallace figures they rescued about a dozen people from that one window.
Operations at the Pentagon, the central command for our military, never ceased, despite the building collapse, evacuation, fire and ankle-deep jet fuel pooling.
But the 6.5 million-square-foot fortress was, sadly, almost as effective as trapping victims “in” as it was keeping enemies “out.”
“I knew we were in trouble,” Wallace says.
Wallace doesn't think of himself as a hero. He says he was just doing his job.
“I can assure you that neither mark nor Dennis nor I would ever think that anything we did was heroic,” he says. “We just were in a position to do something.”
So, they gave their all, working while hurt to help as many people as they could.
184 people died at the Pentagon that day… a day Wallace, and the rest of us will never forget.
Updated: Sep 09, 2016 11:05 PM EST
By Nicole Crites
As we approach the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attack, we remember as a nation that terrible day in history.
Fifteen years later, it’s remarkable that we are still hearing new stories from survivors.
One of the survivors of the Pentagon attack is firefighter Alan Wallace. He was in Phoenix Friday to share his story at a fundraiser for the “Military Assistance Mission.”
“There was no warning as to what was in front of us or what was about to happen,” says Wallace, who says he still thinks about the attack every day.
Wallace was in charge of the 3-man crew at the Pentagon getting ready for President George W. Bush's arrival.
When the first two hijacked commercial jets hit the Twin Towers, those at the Pentagon had no idea another plane was coming straight for them until they heard that unmistakable sound.
It was Wallace's radio call for help that first confirmed which target near DC had been hit.
“We have had a commercial airliner crash into the west side of the Pentagon.”
Wallace jumped into action, doing the best he could with the bare minimum.
He had no helmet, no gloves and no mask. He crawled into the Pentagon with a lantern and a fire extinguisher.
“I hear a woman yell ‘hey’ and it startled me so much,” he remembers. “All I could say was ‘hey,’ and one of us said ‘we can’t see you’ and this lady claps her hand twice.”
They helped that woman find her way out.
“This fellow comes by, grabs me and says, ‘if you can push me into this window, we can get these people out of the building’ and so that's what we did.”
Wallace figures they rescued about a dozen people from that one window.
Operations at the Pentagon, the central command for our military, never ceased, despite the building collapse, evacuation, fire and ankle-deep jet fuel pooling.
But the 6.5 million-square-foot fortress was, sadly, almost as effective as trapping victims “in” as it was keeping enemies “out.”
“I knew we were in trouble,” Wallace says.
Wallace doesn't think of himself as a hero. He says he was just doing his job.
“I can assure you that neither mark nor Dennis nor I would ever think that anything we did was heroic,” he says. “We just were in a position to do something.”
So, they gave their all, working while hurt to help as many people as they could.
184 people died at the Pentagon that day… a day Wallace, and the rest of us will never forget.Updated: Sep 09, 2016 11:05 PM EST
By Nicole Crites
(Source: KPHO/KTVK)
(Source: KPHO/KTVK)
PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) -
As we approach the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attack, we remember as a nation that terrible day in history.
Fifteen years later, it’s remarkable that we are still hearing new stories from survivors.
One of the survivors of the Pentagon attack is firefighter Alan Wallace. He was in Phoenix Friday to share his story at a fundraiser for the “Military Assistance Mission.”
“There was no warning as to what was in front of us or what was about to happen,” says Wallace, who says he still thinks about the attack every day.
Wallace was in charge of the 3-man crew at the Pentagon getting ready for President George W. Bush's arrival.
When the first two hijacked commercial jets hit the Twin Towers, those at the Pentagon had no idea another plane was coming straight for them until they heard that unmistakable sound.
It was Wallace's radio call for help that first confirmed which target near DC had been hit.
“We have had a commercial airliner crash into the west side of the Pentagon.”
Wallace jumped into action, doing the best he could with the bare minimum.
He had no helmet, no gloves and no mask. He crawled into the Pentagon with a lantern and a fire extinguisher.
“I hear a woman yell ‘hey’ and it startled me so much,” he remembers. “All I could say was ‘hey,’ and one of us said ‘we can’t see you’ and this lady claps her hand twice.”
They helped that woman find her way out.
“This fellow comes by, grabs me and says, ‘if you can push me into this window, we can get these people out of the building’ and so that's what we did.”
Wallace figures they rescued about a dozen people from that one window.
Operations at the Pentagon, the central command for our military, never ceased, despite the building collapse, evacuation, fire and ankle-deep jet fuel pooling.
But the 6.5 million-square-foot fortress was, sadly, almost as effective as trapping victims “in” as it was keeping enemies “out.”
“I knew we were in trouble,” Wallace says.
Wallace doesn't think of himself as a hero. He says he was just doing his job.
“I can assure you that neither mark nor Dennis nor I would ever think that anything we did was heroic,” he says. “We just were in a position to do something.”
So, they gave their all, working while hurt to help as many people as they could.
184 people died at the Pentagon that day… a day Wallace, and the rest of us will never forget.
