LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Evidence shows on Sept. 11, 2001, Flight 93 hijackers targeted the U.S. Capitol or White House. President Bush was at an education event in Florida that morning.
Meanwhile, Lubbock Congressman Jodey Arrington (R-TX 19) was at the White House that day, serving as a senior advisor to the president. He learned what had happened when another staff member rushed to his office.
“She turned on the TV and we were watching the news and the commentary. Nobody at that time knew anything more than to assume it was an accident,” Arrington said.
That assumption changed quickly as the attack began to unfold. A little more than 15 minutes later, the second plane hit.
“You know that this is an intentional attack,” Arrington said.
Third plane hits Pentagon
The attack was getting closer by the minute. At 9:37 a.m., a third plane hit the Pentagon. Chaos erupted inside the home of the president.
“People then were screaming in the building, in the executive office building saying, ‘get out,’” Arrington said.
Dozens of people began sprinting to safety.
“We were anticipating that we had minutes maybe to evacuate,” Arrington said.
They were met by the sight of the Pentagon burning as they made it to the White House lawn.
“You can see the smoke billowing up from the White House complex,” Arrington said. “It just felt like we were under siege.”
Arrington piled as many people as he could into his SUV.
Evidence shows hijackers had two targets
A fourth plane was weaponized that day, suspected to be heading for the White House or the Capitol building.
At the elementary school in Sarasota, Chief of Staff Andrew Card informed President Bush of the second plane crashing into the World Trade Center, whispering to him, “America is under attack.”
Bush waited more than five minutes before leaving the classroom. He said he did not want to startle the children or start a panic.
But the fourth plane never made it to its target. The passengers on board made sure of that.
“They said we are not going to be victims here. They understood what was happening. They understood that they were part of a bigger plot. A plot for more destruction, more devastation, more murder and they were not going to allow the terrorist to win,” Arrington said.
That plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing everyone onboard.
Aftermath
The attack was over, but the road forward was becoming more clear.
“You saw a lot of the evolution of emotion in our President. You can see the look on his face when he was informed there in Florida, and then in the days to come when he stood on the rubble in the decisions he made, as he said,” Arrington said.
“I can hear you. I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon,” Bush said, as the crowd chanted “U.S.A.”
“We were unified as patriots, as lovers of our country and fellow Americans,” Arrington said.
As the sun sets over a field of flags 25 years after the attack, each one carries a simple message from Lubbock to the families and heroes of 9/11: We will never forget.
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