The Pentagon: A History

by Steve Vogel

  Rumsfeld was stunned Rumsfeld, author interview.

  Rumsfeld’s instinctive rush David Von Drehle, “Wrestling With History,” WP, 13 Nov. 2005; The 9/11 Commission: Proceedings and Analysis, Book 4, 564; The 9/11 Commission Report, 43–4.

  At 10:15 A.M., Rumsfeld walked Torie Clarke, Lipstick on a Pig: Winning in the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game, 221.

  Fifteen minutes later The 9/11 Commission Report, 43–4, 37–38; DoD news briefing, 12 Sept. 2001; Rumsfeld, author interview.

  As Rumsfeld conferred The 9/11 Commission Report, 44, William J. Haynes, OSD interview, 8 Apr. 2003, OSD HO; Wolfowitz, OSD interview; Rumsfeld, OSD interview, 23 Dec. 2002, OSD HO; Rumsfeld, author interview.

  That’s when I saw real fear

  The first Arlington County Arlington County, “After-Action Report on the Response to the September 11 Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon,” 2002, A-8-10 (hereafter Arlington AAR); Mike Smith, interview with Margaret Roth, 2002.

  Outside, Arlington County Fire Captain Arlington AAR, A-66; Schwartz, author interview; Alfred Goldberg, Sarandis Papadopoulos, Diane Putney, Nancy Berlage and Rebecca Welch, Pentagon 9/11, Washington D.C.: Office of the Secretary of Defense, Historical Office, 2007, 19; Smith, Roth interview; Capt. Jim McKay, interview with Margaret Roth, 2002; ASCE Building Performance Report, 13; Anderson, author interview.

  Fifteen minutes after rescue Arlington AAR, C-46, I-10; WP, 12 Sept. 2001; Jester, author interview.

  The plane is five minutes out

  Inside the Pentagon Carter, author interview; John Irby, DoD news briefing, 14 Sept. 2001.

  Let me know in case I picked the wrong side

  Colonel Phil McNair made it McNair, author interview; Rossow, Uncommon Strength, 60–1; Swift, “Inside the Pentagon on 9/11.”

  Some three hundred employees and rescue Arlington AAR, B-4; Gonzales, author interview.

  McNair saw doctors McNair, author interview; Swift, “Inside the Pentagon on 9/11.”

  Steve Carter, reaching Carter, author interview.

  I guess that will be us doing the shooting

  At Andrews Air Force Base David F. Wherley, Jr., author interview, 2 Apr. 2002; Steve Vogel, “Flights of Vigilance Over the Capital,” WP, 8 Apr. 2002.

  Wherley called the Secret Service Ibid.; The 9/11 Commission Report, 44. Wherley, author interview.

  Three of the squadron’s Marc Sasseville, author interview, 29 Mar. 2002; Vogel, “Flights of Vigilance Over the Capital” Heather Penney, author interview, 29 Mar. 2002; Wherley, author interview.

  Well, a little too late

  In the Pentagon courtyard Carter, author interview; Bruce Hackert, interview with Margaret Roth, 22 May 2002.

  United Airlines Flight 93 The 9/11 Commission Report, 33, 41; Arlington AAR, C-46.

  At 10:38 A.M. Arlington AAR, appendix 1, A-31; Schwartz, author interview.

  The evacuation The 9/11 Commission Report, 31, 41.

  “We are sure” Ibid., 45

  Tell me exactly where it hit

  Lee Evey pulled Evey, author interview, 2002; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed.”

  From a purely analytical Evey, author interview, 21 Sept. 2001; Steve Vogel, “New Pentagon Pays Off,” WP, 23 Sept. 2001; Evey, DoD news briefing, 15 Sept. 2001; The Renovator, Jan/Feb. 2002; McKay, Roth interview.

  The plane struck ASCE Building Performance Report, 24–26; ENR, 24 Sept. 2001; Probst, author interview; Leo J. Titus, Jr., “A Review of the Temporary Shoring Used to Stabilize the Pentagon After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11th, 2001,” 9–10.

  All the command centers PENREN, “Incident Impact, Program Challenges, Required Decisions,” Dec. 2001, Evey papers.

  “It really hurt” Downey, author interview.

  Most remarkably, the plane Evey, author interview, 2001; Vogel, “New Pentagon Pays Off” Evey briefing, 15 Sept. 2001, DoD; Glatz, author interview.

  I’m not running anymore

  The plane’s path McNair, author interview; Gonzales, author interview; Shaeffer, “My Ring Story.”

  They had made it out Smith, Roth interview; Schwartz, author interview.

  It was unlike any fire Ibid.; Smith, Roth interview; ASCE Building Performance Report, 42–3; James Glanz and Eric Lipton, City in the Sky: The Rise and Fall of the World Trade Center, 253; DoD news briefing, 12 Sept. 2002; Arlington AAR, A-16.

  Those watching the scene Ibid., A-8; Smith, Roth interview.

  The five-story collapse zone Larry Collins, “Collapse Rescue Operations at The Pentagon 9-11 Attack: A Case Study on Urban Search and Rescue Disaster Response,” 6; Smith, Roth interview.

  At 2 P.M. the evacuation Arlington AAR, A-30, appendix 1; Smith, Roth interview; Schwartz, author interview; Mike Baker, interview with Margaret Roth, 22 May 2002.

  After the all-clear Smith, Roth interview.

  rescuers were not finding anybody Schwartz, author interview; Titus, “A Review of the Temporary Shoring,” 7–8; Collins, “Collapse Rescue Operations,” 10–11; Newsweek, 27 Sept. 2001.

  Out front, Lieutenant Colonel Ted Anderson Anderson, author interview; Ruane et al, “Inch by Inch” FBI evidence report, “Pentagon—First Floor West.”

  They would have won

  Inside the National Military Rumsfeld, author interview; Rumsfeld, OSD interview; Schwartz, author interview; Wolfowitz, OSD interview; Bob Woodward, Bush at War, 25.

  Rumsfeld decided Rumsfeld, author interview.

  Fire commanders decided Schwartz, author interview; Anderson, author interview; Carter, author interview; Clarke, Lipstick on a Pig, 222–3.

  Despite the problems, Rumsfeld Rumsfeld, author interview; author’s notes, DoD news briefing, 11 Sept. 2001; Clarke, Lipstick on a Pig, 229–31.

  Schwartz was astonished Schwartz, author interview; Arlington AAR, A-65; Carter, author interview.

  Nobody left

  Lee Evey had driven Evey, author interview, 2002; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed.”

  In Evey’s absence Michael Sullivan, daily log of activities, 11 Sept. 2001, Evey papers; Sullivan, OSD interview, 18 Oct. 2001, OSD HO; Government Executive, May 2002; Evey, “Failure No Option at Pentagon,” 1 Sept. 2002, Building Design and Construction; Evey briefing, 15 Sept. 2001, DoD; Hunkele, author interview.

  When the call came Kilsheimer, author interview; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed” Hunkele, author interview.

  Evey had never heard Evey, author interview, 2002; Kilsheimer, author interview; Titus, “A Review of the Temporary Shoring,” 27.

  Kilsheimer met Kilsheimer, author interview; Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, remarks at Phoenix Project reunion, 11 Sept. 2006; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed” Strock, CEHO interviews, Sept.–Oct. 2002, CEHO.

  That night, Evey addressed Building Design and Construction, 1 July 2002; Evey, author interview, 2005.

  CHAPTER 21: THE PHOENIX PROJECT

  The Pentagon had held

  The orange glow Anderson, author interview; author’s notes from scene, 11 and 12 Sept. 2001.

  Some ten thousand workers Steve Vogel, “Defiant Workers Return to Posts at the Pentagon,” WP, 13 Sept. 2001; Glenn Flood, e-mail to author, 16 Mar. 2006; Anderson, author interview.

  Donald Rumsfeld, back in Rumsfeld, address to troops and DoD personnel, 12 Sept. 2001, OSD; Rumsfeld, DoD news briefing, 12 Sept. 2001.

  The ones most impressed Carter, author interview; Irby, DoD news briefing, 14 Sept. 2001.

  It was hardly business Vogel, “Defiant Workers Return to Posts at the Pentagon” Schwartz, author interview; Arlington Fire Chief Ed Plaugher, DoD news briefing, 12 Sept. 2001.

  An American flag James T. Jackson, author interview, 16 Mar. 2006; Schwartz, author interview.

  Hell’s Kitchen

  By the afternoon of September 12 Schwartz, author interview; WP, 13 Sept. 2001; NYT, 14 Sept. 2001.

  The chaos of the first Author’s notes, visit to site, 13 Sept. 2001; Arthur Santana, “Help
ing and Hoping, a Man Resolves to Rescue His Wife,” WP, 13 Sept. 2001.

  Arlington police detective Don Fortunato, interview with Margaret Roth, 24 May 2002.

  Rescuers had not officially Kilsheimer, author interview; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed.” Collins, “Collapse Rescue Operations,” 6.

  Shoring had begun Titus, “A Review of the Temporary Shoring,” 17–19.

  Rescuers methodically Collins, “Collapse Rescue Operations,” 6–7.

  Shoring had begun Titus, “A Review of the Temporary Shoring,” 17–19.

  Rescuers methodically Collins, “Collapse Rescue Operations,” 6–7.

  Whenever a body was found Ibid., 8; Command Sergeant Major Aubrey Butts, author interview, 13 Sept. 2001.

  A large area Collins, “Collapse Rescue Operations,” 9–11, Kilsheimer, author interview.

  You make it happen

  Unlike in New York Evey, author interview, 2002; WP, 25 June 2002.

  Even as search Hunkele, author interview; Kilsheimer, author interview; Evey notes, 13 Sept. 2001, Evey papers.

  Cooke refused Ibid.; Evey notes, 17 Sept. 2001, Evey papers.

  The Corps was asked The Renovator, Mar. 2002; Evey, DoD news briefing, 7 Mar. 2002 (hereafter Evey briefing, 7 Mar. 2002).

  Evey quickly selected AMEC OSD press release, 15 Sept. 2001 (this and all OSD press releases from October 1994 on are available at www.defenselink.mil/releases); Evey, memo to deputy secretary of defense, 14 Sept. 2001, Evey papers.

  The main question was who Evey, author interview, 2002; Kilsheimer, author interview; Schwartz, author interview; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed” Kilsheimer, remarks to Fairfax County Department Works and Environmental Services conference, 2 Apr. 2004 (hereafter Kilsheimer Fairfax remarks); FBI Special Agent Garrett MacKenzie, remarks at Phoenix Project reunion, 11 Sept. 2006.

  Kilsheimer was exactly Evey, author interview, 2002; Catlow, author interview; ENR, 4 Feb. 2002.

  On Friday, September 14 Evey, author interview, 2002; Kilsheimer, author interview.

  Only by the grace of God

  That Sunday night Evey, author interview, 2002; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed.”

  After five days at the site Ibid.; Kilsheimer, author interview.

  The first step Ibid.; Evey briefing, 7 Mar. 2002, DoD; ASCE Building Performance Report, 9, 58.

  Core samples Evey briefing, 7 Mar. 2002, DoD; Kerry Hall, “Concrete Autopsy Helps Strengthen the Pentagon,” National Geographic Today, 9 July 2002.

  It meant many Kilsheimer, author interview; Kilsheimer, OSD interview, 29 Oct. 2001.

  It was surprising ASCE Building Performance Report, 1, 4; Baltimore Sun, 22 Sept. 2001; Paul Mlakar, author interview, 11 May 2006. A similar team was sent to the World Trade Center.

  Remains

  At 8:45 in the morning WP, 22 Sept. 2001; “Inside the Wire,” Military District of Washington public affairs, 26 Sept. 2001.

  The Army had lost the most Ibid.; DoD casualty updates, Sept.–Oct. 2001, www.defenselink.mil/news; Steve Vogel, “Tear-Stained Spreadsheets,” WP, 10 Oct. 2001.

  The search for remains Arlington AAR, C-55-56; Steve Vogel, “On the Job Amid the Surreal,” WP, 30 Sept. 2001; Zeraat, Roth interview; Major Ed Monarez, interview with Margaret Roth, 2002.

  I would certainly be dead now

  The same day the FBI Vogel, “New Pentagon Pays Off” author’s notes from tour with Evey, 21 Sept. 2001; AP, 6 Oct. 2001; The Renovator, summer 2002.

  Three days earlier Peter Murphy, e-mail to Evey, 19 Sept. 2001, PENREN; Steve Vogel, “Retaking a Lost Position,” WP, 16 Aug. 2002. The flag was rescued on September 13, marched out of the Pentagon by Marines and soldiers, and in December 2001 orbited Earth aboard the space shuttle Endeavour.

  Many had similar stories Susan Morrisey Livingstone letter to Cooke and Evey, 18 Sept. 2001, Evey papers; Stephen Pietropaoli e-mail to Evey, 14 Sept. 2001, Evey papers; ASCE Building Performance Report, 16–7, 44; Titus, “A Review of the Temporary Shoring,” 14–15; Vogel, “Retaking a Lost Position” Today’s Facility Manager, September 2002; Goldberg, author interview, Mar. 2006; Glatz, author interview.

  But there were other stories Ibid.; Evey, author interview, 2002, 2005; Glatz, e-mail to Evey, 24 Sept. 2001, Evey papers; McNair, author interview; The Renovator, Mar. 2002.

  The blast-resistant windows Glatz, author interview; The Renovator, Jan./Feb 2002.

  The big open-bay Glatz, author interview.

  Most disturbing Ibid.; Schwartz, author interview; Evey, author interviews, 2002, 2005; The Renovator, Mar. 2002.

  The main problem Glatz, author interview; Rossow, Uncommon Strength, xi–xii, 22, 55; McNair, author interview.

  Somebody could fly into the doughnut hole

  Evey’s initial reaction Evey, author interview, 2002; Schwartz, author interview.

  Some of the fixes Evey, author interview, 2002; Evey briefings, 7 Mar. and 11 June 2002, DoD; The Renovator, Mar. 2002; Glatz, author interview; Michael Sullivan, author interview, Sept. 2003; Steve Vogel, “Workers Push to Fortify Military Headquarters,” WP, 7 Sept. 2003.

  the safety upgrades were similar Robins memo to Somervell’s office, 20 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO.

  Representative John Murtha Michael Sullivan, e-mail to Wendy Thompson and Stacie Condrell, 26 Oct. 2001, Evey papers; Evey e-mail to Cooke, 2 Nov. 2001, Evey papers; Evey briefing, 7 Mar. 2002, DoD.

  Security officials decided Jester, author interview; Haselbush, author interview; Sullivan, author interview; Vogel, “Workers Push to Fortify Military Headquarters.”

  The original renovation plan “Incident Impact, Program Challenges, Required Decisions,” PENREN, Dec. 2001, Evey papers; Catlow, author interview; Evey, author interview, 2005.

  In October, Wolfowitz Wolfowitz, “Chemical, Biological and Radiological (CBR) Protection and Response for Pentagon Personnel,” 26 Oct. 2001, Evey papers.

  To Evey’s astonishment Evey, e-mails to John Batiste, 1, 2, and 3 Oct. 2001, Evey papers; Batiste, e-mails to Evey, 1 and 2 Oct. 2001, Evey papers.

  Batiste scheduled Evey, author interview, 2005; Wolfowitz, OSD interview.

  “You don’t think” Rumsfeld, author interview.

  Are you nuts?

  The crash scene WP, 3 Oct. 2001; Evey, author interview, 2002; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed.” The section is based on this account.

  crews kept working Ibid.; Lynne Perri, “Pentagon Waging a Massive Effort,” USA Today, 23 Nov. 2001; Kilsheimer Fairfax remarks; The Renovator, Mar. 2002.

  Kilsheimer was worried Kilsheimer, author interview; Pat Riley, author interview, 20 Mar. 2006; Pino-Marina, “Indiana Plant Makes its Mark on History” Kilsheimer Fairfax remarks.

  All around the site Will Colston, author interview, August 2002; Evey, author interview, 2002.

  Evey considered the idea Ibid.; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed.” Evey briefing, 15 Sept. 2001, DoD; Sullivan, daily log of activities, 12 Sept. 2001, Evey papers; Kilsheimer, OSD interview.

  On October 5 Evey, CNN.com, 5 Oct. 2001; Evey, author interview, 2002; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed.”

  “Are you nuts?” Ibid.

  The view from Arlington

  Demolition began Ruane et al, “Inch by Inch.”

  Employees inside Perri, “Pentagon waging a massive effort” Steve Vogel, “Pentagon Halfway Back in Countdown from Inferno,” 10 Mar. 2002; Kilsheimer, OSD interview.

  Most estimates of how long Evey briefings, 7 Mar. and 11 June 2002, DoD; Kilsheimer, author interview; PENREN incident status briefing, 31 Oct. 2001, Evey papers.

  From the gravesites McNair, author interview; Ruane et al, “Inch by Inch.”

  I’m not leaving until this damn place is rebuilt

  Kilsheimer felt it too Kilsheimer, Washington Building Congress Bulletin, Sept. 2002; Kilsheimer, OSD interview; Evey briefing, 7 Mar. 2002, DoD; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed.”

 
It was time Ibid.; Hunkele, author interview; Evey, author interview, 2002.

  Thousands of Phoenix Project Kilsheimer, author interview.

  As was the case Perri, “Pentagon Waging a Massive Effort” “CBS Morning News,” 21 Dec. 2001; Mary Beth Sheridan, “U.S. Symbol, Latino Muscle,” WP, 4 Apr. 2002; Fredrick Kunkle, “At Pentagon, Healing and Rebuilding,” WP, 22 Jan. 2002; Carter, author interview; Catlow, author interview; Evey, author interview, 2002; Stephen Ludden, author interview, 3 Apr. 2006.

  Everyone worked with purpose Fredrick Kunkle, “On the Job With Pride and Pain,” WP, 18 Feb. 2002; Travis Fox, “Rebuilding a Fortress, Rebuilding a Life,” 16 Aug. 2002, washingtonpost.com; “The Early Show,” CBS, 11 Mar. 2002; Wilmington News-Journal, 11 Apr. 2002.

  The odd couple

  Evey and Kilsheimer Kilsheimer, author interview; Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed.”

  Working seven days a week Ibid.; Evey e-mail about Kilsheimer, 28 Nov. 2001, Evey papers; Ori Nir, “A Son of Survivors Raises the Pentagon from the Ashes,” Forward, 20 Sept. 2002; Kilsheimer, OSD interview; Kilsheimer Fairfax remarks.

  Whenever questions were raised Ibid.; Evey, author interview, 2005.

  Evey considered himself Ibid.

  Steve Carter Carter, author interview.

  Of course, it was easy Ibid.; Evey, author interview, 2005.

  Out of the ground

  In the new year Vogel, “From Ruins, Pentagon Rises Renewed” Anderson, author interview.

  By mid-January ENR, 4 Feb. 2002; Kilsheimer, author interview; Ludden, author interview; Evey briefing, 7 Mar. 2002, DoD.

  Modern construction techniques Ibid.; Kilsheimer, Washington Building Congress Bulletin, Sept. 2002; Carter, author interview.