Diary of Sept. 11 Pentagon Hero

July 15 -- Eric Jones and Steve De Chiaro just happened to be at the Pentagon when the plane hit on Sept. 11, but what the two men did next saved countless lives.

The two civilians will receive the Medal of Valor today in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.

The award, which recognizes acts of heroism in the face ofdanger, is the highest honor the Defense Department bestows on civilians for acts of courage and valor.

De Chiaro, 43, of Freehold, N.J., is the president of DSCI, a defense contracting firm. He was heading to a briefing when chaos erupted. Instead of evacuating, he rushed back in to help people.

Jones is a 26-year-old graduate student at George Washington University, who is also a volunteer firefighter/paramedic. He was driving to school when the plane hit.

Below is an excerpt of Jones' diary, called Stubborn Defiance, of what he saw on Sept. 11, and in the days that followed, as he assisted in rescue and recovery efforts at the Pentagon, and at the World Trade Center.

The hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men.

— Henry David Thoreau

A hero is no braver than anyone else;(s)he is only brave five minutes longer.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

I dedicate this to the men and women whom are loath to give themselves credit for the acts of courage and heroism they displayed following the attacks of September 11. They do not want recognition, they do not want attention, and they certainly do not want to be referred to as heroes. They feel that they were, "just doing their jobs", but what I witnessed was so much more. To my heroes,

Thank you,

Eric JonesPGFD

Three months have passed since the day that shattered our innocence. The nightmares are becoming less frequent, but I still cannot think about all that I have seen. It is very difficult for me to write about these events, and I feel uncomfortable speaking about them with anyone who was not there. However, I realize that my intimate involvement with both the Pentagon and New York recovery operations gives me a unique perspective on possibly the most historically significant event of my generation. The actions of human's inhumanity toward fellow human would be nearly too much for one to bear, were those actions not offset by some equally magnificent acts of compassion and humanity. I have seen the best of people, in their responses to the actions of the worst of people, and it is a few of these countless acts of heroism, courage, and kindness that I would like to share with you.

My involvement with the attacks of September 11 was simple; like countless other Americans, I simply stepped forward to offer whatever help I could. I am a volunteer firefighter who happened to be driving near the Pentagon when the plane crashed into it. Words cannot accurately describe the scene; the cacophony of sounds and the nauseating smells. It was total chaos. People were running and walking around in shock, not quite knowing what had happened or if more planes were inbound. We would carry someone out and as soon as we turned around someone else would appear out of nowhere. We could hear people calling out, clapping, or banging to lead rescuers towards them. Barely visible through the thick smoke, I noticed a man dodging falling concrete while walking with a severely burned woman. This man was Staff Sergeant Chris Braman, and the woman he was carrying was Mrs. Sheila Moody. Mrs. Moody was so badly burned that she could not speak to call out for help. All she could do was clap her hands and pray that someone would find her. Sergeant Braman answered her prayers by continuing to search through the smoke and fire until he located her. Behind him was another man, LTC Ted Anderson, also working his way through the debris in search of potential survivors. Chris is an Army Ranger, whose bedrock policy is to never leave fallen or injured comrades behind. Despite the smoke, heat, flames and crumbling debris, Sergeant Braman, Colonel Anderson, and several other military and civilian personnel risked their lives by rescuing victims from within the burning Pentagon. Many of these victims were seriously burned or otherwise injured, and it was quite wrenching to carry them out because in doing so we caused them even more pain. Thankfully however, most of these people survived, including Mrs. Moody.

About twenty minutes into the rescue operation, we heard something that still haunts me. An army Captain yelled out, "There's another plane; inbound; two minutes out!" Hearing this caused within us a horrible sinking feeling. We had no reason to doubt the accuracy of the report of a second plane, or the fact that we only had two minutes to reach a safe distance. What struck me was the fact that not one person left an injured victim behind to run for the nearby cover of an underpass. Every one of the rescuers stayed with the injured, carrying them to safety. When an F-16 came streaking overhead, there was a communal sigh of relief, and for some, a few tears. Fortunately there were no more planes.

As the day progressed, it became evident that there would most likely be no new survivors, and the objective quietly shifted from search and rescue to search and recovery. Chris and I got to know each other over the next three days while working with the Army mortuary affairs unit and the FBI to locate, mark, and remove the bodies from the building. LTC Mahee Edmonson headed up the mortuary affairs operation, and despite the overwhelming task she was faced with, she proved to be an excellent leader and organizer. In describing what we saw, I think the words of Army Sergeant Major Aubrey Butts summed things up best when he told those of us about to go in, "You are about to enter into Hell. The things you see inside there will stay with you for the rest of your lives". Many of those tasked for recovery operations were young soldiers from the Old Guard whom, despite excellent leadership by Colonel James Laufenberg, were not quite prepared for the devastation and death they encountered. Even my experience as a paramedic could not have prepared me for what we saw. However, every one of them performed their duty, and not one of his soldiers lost their composure while working. Perhaps this can be attributed to some additional words by Sergeant Butts and Captain Nuremberg, which helped us through the grim process. The Sergeant said, "Bring them out with dignity, feet first, and remember to hold your heads up high and proud". This was followed by the Captain who quietly said, "We will do our jobs as best we can, and like all good soldiers, we will save our tears for until after the war … " No further details are needed to describe the horrors of the recovery operations.

On the third day, we were all beyond exhaustion. Some of us had been there since moments after the plane hit, and were walking zombies. However, we were energized by some kind and encouraging words from President Bush and members of his cabinet, the leadership of various civilian and military personnel, and the hope that maybe, just maybe, there might be someone still alive. The FBI and the Fairfax County and Montgomery County Urban Search and Rescue teams were responsible for the initial searches and stabilization of the building. Their professionalism and dedication was amazing to witness. They never gave up hope of finding survivors. That morning, some members of the FBI asked Chris and I to go in and assist them, since we had been in numerous times and knew what to expect. The area where the plane hit was totally destroyed. Everything, including the bodies, was completely burned. By the time we finally had to evacuate the area due to structural instability, we were very depressed and demoralized. Our hopes of finding any survivors were quickly vanishing, and the images from the past three days were beginning to burn through the haze of shock. We had reached our emotional nadir. Chris and I were sitting solemnly on the back of a truck drinking Gatorade and trying, unsuccessfully, to make sense of what we had just seen. For some reason, we looked up at the hole in the building and saw an amazing and beautiful sight. In front of us, hidden from view from most angles, standing proud and tall amongst total devastation was an apparently intact, United States Marine Corps Flag. We stared at it for what seemed like five minutes, looked at each other, and simply nodded. It was the most beautiful, inspiring, heartwarming thing we had seen. The flag had survived!