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Chaplain Recalls 9/11 Attack On Pentagon
(September 11, 2009) |
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Chaplain (Col.) Henry Haynes, Fort Jackson's installation chaplain, was the Pentagon chaplain during the 9/11 attacks. |
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 FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- Pentagon Chaplain (Lt.
Col.) Henry Haynes had just come out of a meeting and was on his way
back to his office when he heard the news: A plane had hit one of
the World Trade Center towers in New York.
At first, he did not pay close attention to the events, said Haynes,
who is now a colonel and the Fort Jackson installation chaplain. But
when a second plane struck the other WTC tower, people around the
building started to realize the magnitude of what was happening,
Haynes said.
"One man said, 'I bet we're going to be next,'" he remembered. "I
guess it was about a few minutes after that when all the sirens
started going off in the building - because we were next."
On Sept. 11, 2001, at 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 struck
the west wall of the Pentagon, killing 64 people aboard the plane
and 125 people in the building. |
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"When the alarms went off, everybody ran out of the building,
and smoke was pouring out of the western side of the building," Haynes said.
"There was total chaos and confusion, because nobody really knew what was going
on."
Haynes and his fellow chaplains did not have time to let what happened sink in.
They set up an operations center outside the building to attend to victims,
rescue workers and others in need.
"It was just a long, long day of trying to minister to and ... take care of
people who were hurting," Haynes said.
In the days that followed, Haynes was busy ministering to survivors and
conducting prayer services. Haynes also traveled across the country to attend
memorial services for the victims -- many of whom he had known personally.
"There was one fellow -- we parked side by side every morning when we drove in
to the Pentagon. And the reason I remember him so well was because he always
read his Bible," Haynes said. "I would get in at about 6 a.m. each morning ...
and he would be sitting there reading his Bible every morning. It really just
sort of impressed me. The fact that he was killed -- it was just really
emotional, because I knew he was a very good person and very spiritual. But it
was good to be able -- when the parents asked me, 'Did you know my son?' -- to
say, 'Yes, I knew your son. We frequently spoke.' I told them that he read his
Bible every morning and they liked that."
About six months after the attack, Haynes was organizing the Pentagon's National
Prayer Breakfast and found himself in a tight spot when his keynote speaker
canceled on short notice.
"And a voice, like God, said, 'Ask Brian,'" Haynes said.
Brian Birdwell, now a retired lieutenant colonel, had just been released from
the hospital two days earlier. He had been wounded in the attack, suffering
severe burns, which covered more than 60 percent of his body and required more
than 30 operations. To Haynes' surprise, Birdwell agreed to speak at the event.
"And then he (Birdwell) asked, 'Should I wear my uniform?' I asked, 'Brian, can
you get into your uniform?' He asked, 'Do you want me in dress blues?' I said,
'Brian, we'll all be in dress blues. Come in your dress blues,'" Haynes
recalled. "And so he came. He still had all the pressure bandages on and the
grafts were on his body. He couldn't stand on his own; his wife had to help him.
But he came. And when Brian told his story, there was not a dry eye in the
place."
Haynes said that, despite all the evil that happened during 9/11, one of the
positive things that happened as a result of the attacks was the good it brought
out in people.
"It was just an outpouring of love from the American people," he said.
"Everybody was just supportive of one another. I've never seen anything quite
like that before."
Haynes said he feels privileged having been at the Pentagon during 9/11, being
able to serve those in need of spiritual support. He said that although it was a
trying and tiring time, his faith helped him meet the demands.
"I believe that God gives you strength. And I believe in the power of prayer.
There was a lot of prayer going on," he said. "A lot of people just wanted to
hear some positive words. I felt like that was my duty. I had to do that. I had
to be strong for my fellow comrades and employees in the building. I believe
that God prepares us for stuff, and I believe that God had me there for a
reason." | |
Article and photo by Susanne Kappler
Fort Jackson Leader
Copyright 2009
Reprinted from Army
News Service
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