In the midst of continuous Hurricane Florence coverage and updates, WIZS was honored to speak with two 9-11 survivors this Patriot Day.
Today marks the 17th anniversary of the day hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, VA and a field in Shanksville, PA. The 9-11 attacks killed 2,996 people, making it the deadliest foreign attack ever on U.S. soil.
Two survivors from the attack on the Pentagon, husband and wife David and Evelyn Woodson, were on Tuesday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program to discuss their experience on that fateful day.
The Woodson’s were working in the Pentagon on the morning of September 11, 2001 – he with the U.S. Navy and she with the Marine Corp. “It was a regular Tuesday morning,” said David. “We got up like everyone else, got our coffee and went to work.”
David and Evelyn Woodson in the WIZS studio to share their experience as survivors of the 9-11 Pentagon attack.
Little did they know that hours later, 189 people would be killed in the Pentagon attack alone; 64 from American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the building.
According to David, Evelyn called him around 9:15 a.m. that morning to ask if he was near a television and had he seen what was going on in New York. At that time, David was in his office on the fifth floor and Evelyn was in the Pentagon’s clinic for a routine weekly physical.
David quickly found a group standing around a tv right before the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center. “When the second plane hit, everyone was glued to the screen. By that point, everyone knew we were under attack. It became quiet as we all watched in amazement, really.”
As David watched the horror unfold he remembers thinking that the Pentagon had always been a target in the past and that he and co-workers previously worried about bombings. “While I’m standing there contemplating that, I hear screams and yells coming through the corridor and a police officer said, ‘Everybody out, evacuate the building now!’”
“When I exited the building and turned around, I could tell the plane came in near my office and I worried about my staff and supervisors,” said David. “I was also waiting for Evelyn to come around the corner to know that she was safe.”
For her part, Evelyn said her thoughts evacuating the building were on her two children and how she could let them know she was alive in a time before the majority of people owned cell phones.
“You’re trained for this but never expect to have to use your training,” Evelyn said. “I suffer from PTSD because I came in the next day and you have all the bodies that they found lying in the middle of the courtyard covered with white tarp. It was very traumatic for me.”
In some ways, David believes returning to work immediately following the attack helped the couple regain a sense of normalcy. “It helped us to go back to work the next day and see the recovery efforts start immediately.”
When asked how they cope with such an experience, David responded “I think God has given me peace about this. It’s almost like someone breaks into your house and robs you of more than just your possessions. I’ve never had a feeling like that before.”
“It’s our faith in God that has gotten us through this.”
