Bernie Ryan

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Bernie Ryan was a Commander serving in the United States Navy and he was working at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He and his team were sitting in the office preparing for a meeting when they received word that a plane hit one of the Twin Towers. As a pilot himself, Ryan was stunned that a plane could run into such a large building on such a beautiful day. He and his colleagues gathered around a television to watch the events unfold before them. While doing so, the second plane hit the South Tower. It was then that they knew something serious was going on. Ryan recalls a colleague expressing that they should evacuate, to which Ryan replied that they are in Washington, D.C., not New York City. As he and his colleagues continued to prepare for their meeting, the Pentagon was struck by American Airlines flight 77.

Ryan recalls it feeling like an earthquake that lasted only one second and he had a hard time believing that a concrete, stone building, like the Pentagon, could shake the way it did. He recalls looking out the window and seeing a fireball and thinking to himself that what was happening was real and it was not just impacting New York City. Ryan and his colleagues began making their way into the hallway and down the stairs when they heard yelling in front of them, urging them to turn around and go back up the stairs because the group was running right into the area of the building where the plane hit. They ended up going to the courtyard in the middle of the Pentagon and made their way to the outside of the building. Ryan recalls evacuating the building along the Potomac River and finding a young man who could not walk from the injuries he sustained. Ryan guided the man to an ambulance and upon doing so, he heard what sounded like another explosion. It turned out to be the upper floors of the Pentagon collapsing.

After some time, Ryan and those around him heard rumors of another plane inbound. In horror, many people began yelling to get away from the building. They later learned, however, that the rumored plane was United Airlines flight 93, which ended up going down in Pennsylvania. Ryan and another gentleman in the group began walking in the direction of their homes when a man in a blue Volkswagen Bug pulled over and offered to take the pair home as he lived in the same direction. After Ryan was dropped off in his driveway, he thanked the driver and asked where he lived. The driver confessed that he actually lived 50 miles in the opposite direction. This was when Ryan realized that everyone was going to pitch in and get through the tragedy together.

When Ryan finally made it home to his wife, he hugged her with such relief and described it as the best hug he had ever received. Not knowing whether the attacks were over or if there would be more, he recalls looking up at the sky and seeing combat air patrol flying over his house, which is something he never could have imagined.

In the days that followed, Ryan recalls the tireless work of firefighters and police officers; they would not stop working. He urges the importance of remembering and sharing stories from September 11, 2001. He takes every day as a gift and does not take anything – his days, his friends, and his family – for granted.