近距离内射合集

On Sept. 11, 2001, at 9:37 a.m. EST, American Airlines Flight 77 was on its way from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles when it crashed into the west side of the Pentagon, killing 189 people.

Because most of the 7,256 gallons of fuel were still in the plane at the time, 鈥渋t was basically a bomb with wings,鈥� former Albuquerque Fire Chief Jim Breen said.

Six days after the crash, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent Breen, then-Albuquerque firefighter Troy Hamby and the rest of New Mexico Task Force-1 to the Pentagon to assist in the recovery efforts.

鈥淔EMA didn鈥檛 necessarily give us a lot of time to respond,鈥� Breen, 63, said. 鈥淎nd so, I think we had to be deployment ready in 24 hours.鈥�

After arriving, Hamby, 58, said they were briefed about the hazardous conditions.

鈥淎 lot of the instructions that they were giving us were (like), 鈥楬ey, you have your gear on all the time because we鈥檙e not sure what we鈥檙e necessarily exposing you to,鈥欌�� he said.

Part of the task force鈥檚 job, Breen said, was to collect evidence and secure classified information, remove debris, put up shoring where the building鈥檚 structural supports were damaged and recover human remains.

Hamby said when a body was found, everything stopped as members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment 鈥� also known as The Old Guard 鈥� carefully secured the corpse, then draped it with the American flag.

鈥淭hese victims were American heroes who did not die on a battlefield, but they were heroes just the same,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he handling of these victims exemplified that. And after The Old Guard left the structure, we maintained the silence for a few more minutes out of respect and awe.鈥�

Hamby said while he was used to seeing dead bodies in fires or at accident scenes, 鈥渢he thing that really struck me about this whole thing was coming across the personal effects.鈥�

Among the items they found was a high-heeled shoe.

鈥淚t belonged to a mother,鈥� Breen said. 鈥淚t could have been someone鈥檚 sister. Someone鈥檚 aunt. Someone was married to her. And, to me, that was the most somber thing of the entire event.鈥�

鈥淪eeing that put tears in my eyes,鈥� Hamby said.

During their time at the Pentagon, Breen said they received care packages and letters, including one from a child that said: 鈥淒ear Fireman, Thank you for saving all of those people and helping them out of the building and thank you for not giving up and turning back and thank you to police you did a great job.鈥�

鈥淚 felt so humbled that someone, in their need to contribute, would have their kid write letters of encouragement, send colored pictures,鈥� Breen said. 鈥淚t was just heart-touching."

Other people wrote thank you cards and placed them in a fenced area near the Pentagon.

鈥淭hat was too much,鈥� Hamby said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be there for more than a few minutes before I had to walk away.鈥�

On their last day, Sept. 22, Breen said he remembered standing with pride.

鈥淚 focused on the American flag we hung on one of the large lumber shoring units we built along the outside wall of the Pentagon and gave thought to my fellow first responders, the determination of the American people, that we had been part of this horrific historic event, and knew that, although there would need to be healing, we鈥檇 recover and rebuild.鈥�

Hours later, Breen and Hamby landed in Albuquerque and were bused to Civic Plaza, where hundreds of people welcomed them home.

鈥淚t was very emotional and overwhelming because it was not what we expected,鈥� Breen said.

Hamby said he was later asked how it felt to be a hero.

鈥淚鈥檓 like, 鈥業鈥檓 not,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 one of the lucky few who got to help. I just did what I could do. Everybody was doing what they could do.鈥�

Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.