After 9/11, Moving On

"I just remember how beautiful the sky was," said Ellen Earhart of her drive that morning to the Pentagon.

She worked as a liaison specialist for General Montgomery C. Meigs in the U.S. Army Europe and 7th Army Liaison Office. The busiest part of her day was between 6 a.m. and noon, when staff communicated with the office in Europe.

"I loved my job. I loved what I did. It was just a normal day going to work," she said.

Soon after arrving, Earhart turned on the office television as usual.  When reports began about a plane hitting the World Trade Center, her son Douglas, also working in the Pentagon, came down to see what had happened.  "When we saw the second plane hit, we knew it was no accident," Earhart said.

Earhart's office was in the part of the Pentagon that had recently been renovated.  "There were two-foot thick columns throughout the new part of the buildining," she said.  Her desk was right behind a column.

"I had  just said to Douglas, 'we may be next,' when it hit." Earhart said. The Colonel in the next office was thrown from his chair.

"Mom! Douglas yelled. I'm okay. I'm okay," I said back.

Earhart said she heard things hit the windows of her office, but whatever it was didn't come through. "The air was full of smoke," she said.

"Like a dummy I turned off my computer, locked the safe, and turned off the lights," said Earhart.  She, Douglas and another person from her office started toward Center Court, but stopped. "We gathered in a little huddle to pray," she said.  "People going by also stopped, and put their hands on our shoulders. We prayed for the saftey of the people in New York," she said.

Earhart and her son headed with a mass of people toward one of the exits. Then suddenly, everyone was heading back. "It was like a giant wave of people going one way, and a giant wave of people coming back," she said.

When they got out of the building, "I looked back and could see this huge black hole," she said.

I-395 was at a standstill.  Earhart walked up the hill to the Army-Navy Country Club on Army Navy Drive in Arlington, and climbed to the roof of the building so that she could see.  "I stayed at the Army Navy Country Club making calls until about 3 that afternoon," she said.  She wanted her boss to know she'd gotten out safely. 

Meanwhile her son Douglas, at that time a Lt. Col. in the Army, was offering his help to emergency crews.  "He made his way over to the hole with his brand new Expedition, and told the firefighters that he could take people to the hospital," said Earhart.  And he did, even driving on sidewalks to get through.

"I was real calm the first day or so," said Earhart.  "After that I couldn't sleep and I couldn't stop crying." Earhart said her depression got worse daily.  "Every noise would make me jump," she said.  When she saw a doctor, he said Earhart had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 

She worked from home for a month to help ease the stress,  When she returned to the Pentagon, she attended a survivors support group during her lunch hour.  "I found out that everybody in there felt the same,"said Earhart.

"I lost people with whom I'd worked closely for years," said Earhart. Lt. General Timothy J. Maude was the highest ranking person killed at the Pentagon that day. "In his previous assignment, he had been 'my' general," Earhart sad, smiling sadly. 

Earhart was supposed to leave on her annual Cancun vacation in late September, but she cancelled the trip.  "I couldn't leave," she said.  "I felt like I was helping my country; I needed to stay."

Earhart found the silent skies discomforting.  "I kept looking up, up," she said.  "It was like the whole world was holding its breath to see what was going to happen next," she said.

Alan Jackson's song Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) spoke to Earhart.  "His thoughts we're exactly what we we're feeling," she said.  "I also admired President Bush for taking such a strong stand."

On April 1, 2002, Earhart was able to move back into her old office.  "We finally got back, but it was never the same," she said.  She took leave on October 8, 2003, and officially retired in January 2004.  She'd served 35 years in civilian service.

Earhart is still on medication for PTSD.  She doesn't watch any violent or crime related television shows. Large sounds, she said, "take me back to that time."

"I'm thankful to be a survivor, and especially grateful to be at Greenspring [Retirement Community in Springfield]," she said.  "When I came here I saw many older people I could help." Earhart said helping others restored for her a purpose to living.  Helping others is helping her move on.