Olympic Ceremony Honors Pentagon Heroes
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2001 – Every four years, the Olympics
unite the international community. This year, Olympic
officials brought the Olympic flame to the Pentagon to
honor the heroes and victims of the Sept. 11 attack that
united the nation and the world in its war against
terrorism.
"Sadly, inspiration sometimes is found in tragedy," said
Cindy Gillespie, vice president of the Salt Lake City
Organizing Committee for the Winter Games of 2002. "I know
that we all look at the events of Sept. 11, and know that
from the actions of those on that day and since that day,
we have found inspiration as a nation. We have been united
as never before."
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Navy Chief Petty Officer Bernard Brown
carries the Olympic flame through a cordon of 184 American
flags Dec. 21, 2001, during a ceremony at the Pentagon's
River Parade Field. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee for
the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 hosted the ceremony to
honor the heroes and 184 victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attack. Brown's 11-year-old son, Bernard Jr., was aboard
the hijacked jet that crashed into the Pentagon. Photo by
Linda D. Kozaryn
(Click photo for screen-resolution image; high-resolution image available.)
(More photos) |
The Olympic torch was lit Nov. 19 in Olympia, Greece, and
brought to the United States Dec. 4. For 65 days, 11,500
torchbearers will carry the flame throughout the United
States.
"Those torchbearers were all chosen because they symbolize
inspiration," Gillespie said. Olympic officials decided to
host a unique ceremony at the Pentagon with 14 people
representing "all those so deeply impacted by the terrorist
attack," she said.
The passing of one torch symbolized all the heroes from
that day.
"Today's ceremony is really very simple," Gillespie said,
"one flame, one torch, one moment of remembrance and
tribute, and one people united in hope for the future."
One hundred twenty-five people were killed on the ground at
the Pentagon: 22 soldiers; 47 Army civilians; six Army
contractors; 33 sailors; six Navy civilians; three Navy
contractors; and eight other DoD employees. Another 64
people, including five assailants, perished aboard the
American Airlines passenger jet that slammed into the
military headquarters.
David Theall, an Army employee who risked his life to help
others during the attack, was among those chosen to pass
the torch. "I think this is a wonderful tribute to all of
the men and women who wear the uniform of our nation's
military," he said. "It's such an appropriate tribute to
those who died here on Sept. 11."
Navy Cdr. George Navas said he was proud and honored to be
chosen to pass the torch. Earlier in the week, he said, he
received a Meritorious Service Medal from the Navy
secretary for his efforts Sept. 11.
"In retrospect," Navas said, "if it would bring my friends
back, I'd give it back in a heart beat."
Navy Chief Petty Officer Bernard Brown was first to receive
the torch upon its arrival at the Pentagon's River Parade
Field. Brown's 11-year-old son Bernard was among the Flight
77 passengers who died in the crash. Several of Brown's
staff members assigned to the Deputy Chief of Naval
Operations for Plans, Policy and Operations, Naval Command,
also died in the attack.
Brown bore the torch through a cordon of 184 American
flags, one for each victim, before passing it on to the
first of the 14 other participants. Each, in turn, then
passed the torch to the person on his or her left:
- Army Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell, military assistant to
the Army deputy assistant chief of staff for installation
management, sustained burns to more than 40 percent of his
body and was released on Dec. 5 from Washington Hospital
Center.
- Lori Reeder Burroughs and Samuel Cardenas work for
the assistant secretary of the Navy in the Office of
Financial Management and Comptroller. On Sept. 11, they
were in their office in the direct path of the plane's
impact in the Pentagon. They helped evacuate a handicapped
person who without their assistance may not have been able
to escape from the building. Because of their action, that
person, Ms. Gail Wirick, was in the Pentagon Olympic torch
ceremony.
- Navy Lt. Kelly Ennis, aide-de-camp to the vice chief
of naval operations, assisted in the rescue effort by
suiting up with firemen and leading them to offices near
the impact area because of his knowledge of the layout of
fourth floor offices. Carl Mahnken sustained a head injury
from the blast and narrowly escaped his destroyed office.
The Army civilian employee assisted a burn victim and
monitored him for shock. He continued to assist military
and civilian doctors and nurses in treating several serious
burn victims and helped to load these victims onto air
medevac and ground transport.
- For many days after the attack on the Pentagon, Army
Sgt. Gary Massoud and his unit served tirelessly during the
recovery operations in the support area at the Pentagon.
Massoud is the section sergeant of the U.S. Army Caisson
Platoon at nearby Fort Myer, Va. His unit is responsible
for the horse drawn carriage that takes service men and
women to their final resting place in Arlington National
Cemetery. The unit participated in several of the funerals
for victims of the attack.
- Teri Maude represented the spouses of victims of the
Pentagon attack. Her husband, Lt. Gen. Timothy Maude, was
the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel and the
senior ranking officer killed on Sept. 11.
- Army Col. Philip A. McNair, the executive officer to
the deputy chief of staff for personnel, was in a meeting
when the plane struck. After helping co-workers evacuate
the burning building, he went back into the first floor and
helped to save seven sailors.
- Keith Morris represented his mother, Odessa Morris,
a budget analyst in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff
of the Army for Personnel, who was killed during the
attack. The 17-year-old is a senior at Gwynn Park High
School in Brandywine, Md.
- Navy Cmdr. George Navas assisted in evacuating
personnel from the Pentagon, and helped move those injured
to the triage area. He helped unload supplies for emergency
personnel, directed fire fighting teams through the
Pentagon, and accompanied battalion fire chiefs through the
damaged areas, providing a first-hand account of interior
damage to the building.
- Army Sgt. Kenneth Noe, assigned to the Military
District of Washington's Engineer Co., is the Army's only
collapsed building rescue company. Noe and members of his
unit reported to the scene at the Pentagon immediately
following the terrorist attack, and spent many long hours
and days sifting through the debris to locate and recover
victims.
- Navy Capt. David M. Thomas Jr. and Lt. Cdr. David
Tarantino went to the damaged area immediately after the
strike and entered the destroyed Navy Command Center
through one of two holes created by the blast. Thomas is
the executive assistant for the Deputy Chief of Naval
Operations for Plans, Policy, and Operations. Tarantino is
a flight surgeon and family practitioner assigned to the
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs. The men had to beat
back flames with a fire extinguisher to enter the room to
search for survivors. Together, they discovered and
extricated severely injured and pinned Jerrell Henson
- David Theall, an Army civilian employee, assisted
survivors and the medical personnel treating them and
continued to do so in spite of his own injuries and with
complete disregard for his own safety.
- Army Sgt. Christopher Braman went back inside the
burning Pentagon, risking his life to save three people—one
of whom survived. He carried the torch off the Parade Grounds
at the close of the Pentagon Olympic ceremony.
Return to article
| David Theall, who risked his life during the
Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon to help in the
triage area on the helipad in close proximity to the
ensuing fire and secondary explosions, passes the Olympic
torch to Army Sgt. Christopher Braman during a ceremony
honoring the heroes and 184 victims of the attack. Photo
by Linda D. Kozaryn (Click photo for screen-resolution image; high-resolution image available.)
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| Army Sgt. Christopher Braman, carries the
Olympic flame at the conclusion of a Dec. 21, 2001,
ceremony at the Pentagon honoring the heroes and 184
victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. Braman, who
risked his life to save three people, one of whom survived,
risk his life to retrieve the Marine Corps Flag in the
Pentagon. Photo by Linda D. Kozaryn (Click photo for screen-resolution image; high-resolution image available.)
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| Navy Chief Petty Officer Bernard Brown,
whose 11-year-old son died in the American Airlines flight
that terrorists crashed into the Pentagon Sept. 11, holds
an extinguished Olympic torch following a Dec. 21, 2001,
ceremony at the Pentagon. The Salt Lake Organizing
Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 hosted the
ceremony to honor the heroes and 184 victims of the Sept.
11 terrorist attack. Photo by Linda D. Kozaryn
(Click photo for screen-resolution image; high-resolution image available.)
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| Navy Cdr. George Navas, who helped evacuate
people during the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the
Pentagon, holds an extinguished Olympic torch following a
Dec. 21, 2001, ceremony at the Pentagon honoring the heroes
and 184 victims of the attack. The commander said he'd
gladly give back the Meritorious Service Medal he received
from the Navy secretary for his actions that day if he
could only have his colleagues back. Photo by Linda D.
Kozaryn
(Click photo for screen-resolution image; high-resolution image available.)
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