25 years after 9/11: Arlington marks 25 years since Pentagon attack

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(The Center Square) – Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon, the Twin Towers and in rural Pennsylvania, Arlington is preparing to bring together more than 200 first responders as the county looks back at a response that quickly grew across Northern Virginia and continues to shape emergency preparedness today.

Many of the first responders expected at Arlington’s Sept. 11 ceremony were part of the response in 2001, when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.

“September 11, 2001, changed Arlington County and the Arlington County Fire Department forever,” the department told The Center Square in a statement. “Twenty-five years later, we continue to remember the 184 people who lost their lives at the Pentagon, the nearly 3,000 victims of the attacks, and the families, friends and communities forever changed by that day.”

A total of 184 people were killed at the Pentagon and aboard Flight 77, while 2,996 people, including the terrorists, were killed overall in the attacks that day.

Arlington firefighters, police officers and other public safety personnel responded within minutes of the attack.

What began as a rescue operation developed into extended firefighting, search and recovery efforts and a regional emergency response involving agencies from across Northern Virginia and the Washington D.C. area.

The Fire Department said Arlington personnel worked alongside the Arlington County Police Department, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Fort Myer, Alexandria, Fairfax County, the District of Columbia and numerous other agencies.

“The response demonstrated the importance of relationships, training, unified command and regional cooperation,” the department told The Center Square. “Those partnerships allowed us to work together during an unprecedented event, despite the tremendous uncertainty and challenges at the scene.”

Arlington’s response was later recognized nationally as a model for managing a large-scale emergency, according to the department.

Those lessons did not end with the response at the Pentagon.

“The lessons learned from that day have influenced how we train, prepare, communicate and respond to major incidents,” the department said. “We are better prepared today because of the experiences and sacrifices of those who came before us.”

The department also pointed to the lasting toll on those who responded.

“The consequences of the work performed at the Pentagon did not end when the fire was extinguished or the recovery operation concluded,” the department said. “Many first responders have faced serious health consequences in the years since, reminding us that the impact of Sept. 11 continues to be felt a quarter-century later.”

U.S. Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, who served on the Arlington County Board at the time of the attacks, said the response also extended into the surrounding community.

Favola told The Center Square there was an outpouring of residents volunteering to help first responders with first aid, warm food, errands and other needs.

She said Arlington residents took pride in the firefighters who quickly arrived at the Pentagon and recalled two images that remained especially significant to her: the placement of an American flag on the damaged Pentagon and the community coming together afterward.

Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, said the anniversary also comes as a generation of Americans has grown up without a living memory of the attacks.

“The attack on the Pentagon happened right here on Virginia soil, and as we approach 25 years, an entire generation of Americans has grown up with no living memory of Sept. 11th,” Hope told The Center Square.

Hope pointed to the planned Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center as one way that history will be carried forward.

Virginia’s current budget provides $1 million to Arlington County to support construction of the center, which is planned near the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.

Arlington’s 25th anniversary ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11, at Fire Station 5.

More than 200 first responders are expected, including many who responded to the Pentagon. Retired Arlington Deputy County Manager Jim Schwartz, who served as incident commander during the Pentagon response, is scheduled to participate along with Arlington Fire Chief David Povlitz, Police Chief Andy Penn and elected officials.

The ceremony will include remarks, a wreath laying and a rose-laying ceremony at a steel beam from the World Trade Center displayed outside the station.

For Arlington firefighters, the anniversary is both remembrance and preparation for what comes next.

“We will never forget September 11, 2001,” the department told The Center Square, “and we will continue to carry its lessons forward for the generations of firefighters and first responders who follow.”