Photo By Douglas Stutz | Solemn preparation…Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Bremerton...... read more read more
On the eve of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Bremerton commemorating 9/11 with a memorial ceremony, staff members shared their recollection of that fateful day, and reflected on those lost.
The heartfelt remembrances are personal, emotive and lasting.
“I was in 7th grade art class in Burke, Virginia, approximately 15 miles from the Pentagon. My father was working as the executive assistant for the Secretary of Navy at the time, in the inner ring on the section that was struck,” said Lt. Cmdr. Paul Flood, Urgent Care Clinic department head, chief medical informatics officer and staff family physician.
There were no televisions in the school. The vast majority of children like Flood had a parent working at the Pentagon.
“It was a very eerie day. There were hushed whispers from the teachers. We could all tell that something was going on,” Flood said, whose mother picked himself and younger sister up, letting him know there was no word from his father.
“I didn’t understand what was truly happening until we got home. My father finally contacted us two or three hours after the crash. He was working with staffers in the Secretary of Navy’s office looking for injured workers,” said Flood. “I remember my mother was scared throughout most of the day. She was on the phone with my father when the crash occurred. He was looking out of his window and told my mother it looks like a plane is flying straight toward the Pentagon. Then the line went dead.”
There were 184 victims, including 47 Navy Sailors, civilians and retirees, who lost their lives when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon,
“9/11 is one of the most confusing and scary days as a child of a service member. That was the first time that I was truly scared that I might never get to see my father again. I am thankful every day that I did not lose my father on that fateful day. However, several friends were not as lucky,” Flood said.
There were a total of 2,753 people killed in New York City when United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center.
“I had just checked onto Naval Hospital Bremerton (NHB) in July, 2001, new to the command and Navy as a lieutenant junior grade. I clearly remember sitting in the executive board after the first plane hit watching the news, waiting for word if my brother had survived the collapse of the second tower. He had called after the first tower collapsed. But it wasn’t until late afternoon that we heard from him that he had made it out and was home,” remembered Glenda Hughes, management analyst and data quality supervisor.
“I was in the delayed entry program, just 16 years old attending high school, college and working. My heart sunk as I watched the terrorist attacks. The attack(s) were a wakeup call for us to be proactive in protecting our nation’s freedom and democracy against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” stated Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Jay Humarang.
“I was an ensign, second-year medical student at Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda on 9/11. I remember watching live footage of the planes crashing into the towers on a giant screen in the lecture hall, the base being locked down initially, and administrators requesting all students and staff with O negative blood to donate for the Pentagon victims. It was all very chaotic and scary,” said Cmdr. Brian Legendre, preventive medicine officer, currently on temporary assigned duty to U.S. NMRTC Sigonella, Italy.
There were 40 passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 killed after preventing the four terrorist hijackers from reaching their destination, and instead forced the airplane to crash in Somerset County, Pa.
Timothy D. Stewart, command evaluator and medical inspector general compliance officer, was assigned to USS Camden (AOE-2) and as a chief selectee was in the ship’s chief’s mess preparing for the day when the television began showing the events unfolding.
“I originally thought that is was a fake news skit, never believing that something like that could happen in America. The skipper told everyone to go home, get packed. We were departing in four hours. We didn’t know if we were going to get attacked or not on the west coast. We spent the next 10 and a half months on deployment. We had already experienced terrorism October 12, 2000, when we were the first ship to respond to the USS Cole (DDG 67) bombing in Yemen,” related Stewart, adding he experienced a wide range of emotions.
“Somewhat scared of the unknown, but really angry. God bless those that died and those that gave their lives trying to save the victims,” said Stewart.
Elma Faye Miller, infection control nurse, was a military wife and Army Reservist living in Leinach, Germany that day, which she remembers as being bright and sunny. There was time to play outside with her young son while the other children were at school on base near the hospital in Wurzburg. After putting her son down for a nap, she was half watching and listening to the Armed Forces Network news when the dialogue suddenly became more urgent.
“Something happening at the World Trade Center. I didn’t think much of it, maybe an accident or something. They had a helicopter going to check it out. As the helicopter camera panned the wreckage, I saw another airplane loop up and crash straight into the other tower. The reality of what had just happened made my mind sort of seize. That is the only way I can explain it. I knew it wasn’t an accident anymore. Time stopped. Time just stopped. That day changed my entire life. Not because I knew any of those poor souls who lost their lives, but because I no longer felt safe. We drove an Astro Minivan in Germany. It screamed American! I no longer wanted to be there. Our wonderful neighbors and the entire country really embraced us with sorrow and words of kindness,” Miller said.
For Pat Graves, a hospital corpsman first class at that time assigned to Fleet Surgical Team Six at Little Creek, Virginia, he had just returned from a six month deployment in support of stabilizing Kosovo forces in the Balkans. He had checked out on leave that very morning and was waiting for his wife to travel on vacation to Florida.
“I had the TV news on and saw the aftermath of the first airplane hitting tower one. It was so unsettling. I noticed my neighbor across the street in her front yard and I called out to her “turn on the TV! There’s been a major accident in NYC, someone hit the World Trade Center!” My neighbor dashed in her house and as I turned back into mine, I walked in to see the second airplane fly directly into tower two. Instantly I knew it was no longer an accident we were under attack! I was furious! I contacted my command and waited direction from my commander,” said Graves, current command tobacco cessation coordinator.
Donna W. Sands, lead occupational health technician at NMRTC Bremerton Detachment Puget Sound Naval Shipyard occupational health and retired Chief Hospital Corpsman (HMC) was on her annual two week Navy Reserve training at NHB. After checking into the command on Sept. 10, 2001, she was to start working nights in the pharmacy the next day.
“My husband called me that morning around 10 a.m. and said to turn on the television and watch the news. I cried as I watched in disbelief as the terrorists crashed into the twin towers. The news kept showing it, from when they were first hit, to when they collapsed. I continued to watch as the two other crashes unfolded,” said Sands, not entirely certain if she was able to report for duty that evening.
“The pharmacist said to let me in. Only essential personnel were allowed in to work that week. We filled an average of 1,000 prescriptions a night, so we were busy, even though it was strangely quiet at the hospital. It felt good to do what I could to help out,” continued Sands.
Terry Lerma, emergency preparedness manager, had just retired from active duty and was working at a local hospital. He had just put in a double overtime shift in the emergency room medical imaging suite. After pouring his third cup of coffee, making a fresh pot for the oncoming nurses, a co-worker rushed in with then news of a plane hitting the World Trade Center (WTC).
“I was thinking a small commuter propeller driven aircraft had gotten lost and bonk, hit the WTC. I remember we saw the first tower with huge amounts of smoke and flames coming from it. About three-four minutes later, we saw the second jet hit the other tower. I dropped my coffee, and remember saying, “We’re under attack, we’re at war,” Lerma recalled.
That coffee stain remained in the carpet for many months.
“It was hard to sleep that night. The next day, I went back to work, but I knew our way of life would never be normal again, exclaimed Lerma.
Lt. Cmdr. Michael Buyske, optometrist, was an ensign and surface warfare officer assigned to his first ship, USS Rainier (AOE-7), just returned from a Western Pacific deployment.
“After hearing that a plane had hit the World Trade Center, my first thought was confusion, followed shortly by disbelief as I watched the subsequent events unfold,” recalled Buyske. “The events changed the focus and mindset of most of my shipmates and motivated everyone onboard to do their part to get the ship ready to re-deploy as soon as possible to support overseas operations.”
“When I had time to reflect on the events of 9/11, I recall feeling just about every emotion – fear, anger, sadness – as well as a sense of pride to be wearing the military uniform and having the opportunity to directly contribute to the operations designed to fight back against those who attacked us,” added Buyske.
Jeff Worrell was an ensign attending a course at National Naval Medical Center Bethesda, Maryland, that day. Another student informed the class during a break that an airplane crashed into one of the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Worrell and the rest of his classmates watched the second plane hit.
“It was about another half hour or so when another student came into the classroom and stated that another airplane ran into the Pentagon. We all told him to shut-up. This was not the time for jokes. He told us he was not joking,” Worrell said, after which the class was cancelled. Driving back to his residence in Smithsburg, the roadways were almost empty of other traffic.
“When I got home my wife was happy because she was unable to contact me because all the cell phones had been blocked so no cell phones were working,” said Worrell. “It was a sad time of American history.”
Compiled statistics show that there were 384,385 Navy personnel – 313,323 enlisted and 71,062 officer – born prior to 9/11, with 51 enlisted Sailors born on that actual day, and another 17,046 born afterwards.
Twenty years later, memories of that fateful day continues to linger, as the approximately 1,200 active duty and federal civilian staff at NHB/NMRTC Bremerton can attest.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2021 19:33 |
| Story ID: | 404958 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 233 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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