By Matthew J. Seelinger
2026 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. On what became known as simply 9/11, America suffered the largest number of deaths due to hostile action on a single day since the Battle of Antietam, 17 September 1862. Amidst the chaos and destruction that took place on 11 September, U.S. Army soldiers answered their nation’s call and played a major role in leading victims to safety, aiding the wounded, recovering the dead, and providing security in the aftermath of the attacks.
11 September 2001 began as a beautiful late summer day along the East Coast. At 0846, the day turned into a nightmare as a hijacked jetliner slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City, followed by a second aircraft that slammed into the South Tower. Two Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians, Sergeant First Class Michael Carlton and Sergeant First Class Carl Lowary, of the 52d Ordnance Group (EOD), who were in New York to support the U.S. Secret Service and the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, immediately sprang into action. Lowary quickly left the Secret Service field office at the WTC complex to locate other EOD technicians and prevent them from arriving at the Center. Carlton remained at his post at the Secret Service field office until ordered to evacuate (the building collapsed later on 11 September). As a result of their quick actions, no EOD personnel were lost. Lowary, Carlton, and several other EOD technicians remained in New York over the next several days in order to assist the Secret Service. Lowary and Carlton were awarded the Army Commendation Medal and honored by the Secret Service for their actions.
Hours after the Twin Towers collapsed, New York Governor George Pataki mobilized elements of the New York National Guard and ordered them to lower Manhattan. By nightfall, soldiers from the 42d Infantry Division arrived at the WTC site and established a security perimeter around the massive piles of rubble that had once been the WTC complex. The 42d Division later assumed command of the New York National Guard joint task force for response and recovery in lower Manhattan.
Army Reservist Captain John Chovanes rushed to New York City from Pennsylvania after Mayor Rudolph Guiliani made an urgent call for medical assistance. Chovanes, a Medical Corps officer and paramedic in civilian life, volunteered to go into the debris pile at the WTC site to treat a trapped Port Authority Police officer. Amid shifting rubble, Chovanes administered emergency medical treatment and remained with the officer until rescue workers freed him on 12 September. Chovanes was later awarded the Soldier’s Medal for his actions.
The Army Corps of Engineers played an important role in the aftermath of the WTC collapse. In order to facilitate the removal of rubble from the WTC site and cut down on potentially hazardous dust and debris from being transported through New York City by truck, the Corps dredged an area just off the west side of lower Manhattan that allowed the use of barges to transport thousands of tons of debris to landfills on Staten Island.
Another hero of 11 September, Rick Rescorla, was a retired Army Reserve colonel with twenty-seven years of service. Rescorla served with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in Vietnam and took part in the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965. For his service in Vietnam, he earned the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and a Purple Heart. On 11 September, Rescorla was serving as the security director of Morgan Stanley at the WTC and quickly ordered his firm’s evacuation from the South Tower and WTC 5 shortly after the first plane struck. In all, some 3,800 Morgan Stanley employees were safely evacuated, but Rescorla himself would not survive the day. In an effort to rescue more people, Rescorla re-entered the South Tower shortly before it collapsed. His body was never recovered.
The plane that struck the Pentagon on 11 September scored a direct hit on the office of Lieutenant General Timothy Maude, the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, killing Maude and several of his staff. Maude became the highest-ranking Army officer killed by enemy action since World War II. Of the 125 military and civilian personnel in the Pentagon who perished in the attack, seventy-four were from the Army. Dozens of others were injured, including some with severe burns.
Army personnel from the Pentagon and nearby Fort Myer responded immediately. Soldiers and civilians established makeshift aid stations outside the building to triage and treat the injured. Army helicopters evacuated the wounded, with several of them going to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Soldiers of the 3d Infantry (The Old Guard) assisted in rescuing the injured and recovering the dead. By the evening of 11 September, the 767th Ordnance Company (EOD), 372d Military Police Company (DC National Guard), and the Military District of Washington Engineer Company were at the Pentagon to assist in recovery operations. In addition, 300 Virginia National Guardsmen were activated to assist at the Pentagon.
The following day, in one of the most memorable scenes at the Pentagon dollowing the attack, soldiers and rescue workers unfurled a large garrison flag along the damaged side of the Pentagon. The flag belonged to the Army Band (Pershing’s Own) at nearby Fort Myer, and it remained at the Pentagon until 11 October 2001.
Three days after the 11 September attacks, President George W. Bush authorized Operation NOBLE EAGLE and activated some 10,000 soldiers from the reserve components to assist with airport, seaport, and border security, and to help guard sensitive military, governmental, and civilian installations. By December 2001, some 17,000 reservists and Guardsmen had been activated in support of NOBLE EAGLE.
11 September 2001 marks one of the darkest days in American history—a Pearl Harbor for the twenty first century. On that terrible day, soldiers of the U.S. Army rose to the occasion like those that had come before them. Soon many would be deployed overseas to take part in a war unlike any other in American military history—the Global War on Terrorism.
About the Author
Matthew Seelinger is the Army Historical Foundation’s Chief Historian and the editor of the Foundation’s digital journal, On Point.
This article originally appeared in the Foundation’s 2006 Annual Report to mark the fifth anniversary of 11 September 2006 attacks on the United States.
The Army Historical Foundation invites visitors to take part in a special Honor Walk at the National Museum of the United States Army in remembrance of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York City, Arlington, Virginia, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
This free outdoor activation offers visitors a meaningful opportunity to pause, reflect, and honor the lives lost, the courage of first responders, and the service and sacrifice that followed. The Honor Walk will take place on the Museum’s Demonstration Track on 11-13 September from 1000 to 1600.
For more information and registration, please visit the following link: 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Honor Walk – The Army Historical Foundation
Delve into the new exhibit Steel and Stone: Engineering the Response to 9/11 at the National Museum of the United States Army, where you can view Rick Rescorla’s ID badge and other artifacts relating to 9/11: National Museum of the United States Army
For additional images and artifacts relating to the Army’s response during and after 9/11, Google Arts and Culture is hosting a virtual exhibit: Army Resolve: Looking Back at 9/11 — Google Arts & Culture
