Clemons worked at the Pentagon when terrorists crashed an American Airlines jetliner into the building on Sept. 11, 2001. The Dumfries resident has served full-time in the National Guard for 25 years, and was recently awarded a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq from March 2009 to March 2010.
What were you doing at the Pentagon?
I was working for the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs. The job title was military assistant, but what it really means is, ‘Hey you, whatever comes up, tackle the issue.’ There was never a dull day in the office.
What happened when the plane struck?
Our office was 50 yards from where the plane hit, and several folks saw the plane coming through the window. There wasn’t a sense of panic; I guess that’s folks in the military. You get up and you get to the place of safety as soon as you can. I ended up with flash burn because of the heat and radiation; I was about three or four shades darker when I walked out of the building that day.
Still, weren’t you scared?
This must sound strange, but you didn’t think about being scared. It didn’t actually dawn on me until we got outside and saw the building burning, like, ‘Oh my God.’ Then I became very grateful, because my office was scheduled to move to ground zero, where the plane crashed, on Sept. 10 – but there were delays by the contractors, and we didn’t.
What should more people understand about the tragedy?
I dealt with the leaders of the Iraq mission at the highest levels of government. Believe me, they have not forgotten what happened, and neither should we. But we keep pressing on, trying to make the situation better. For me, it’s best to still wear the uniform day in and day out. – Lisa Gartner
