SAN ANTONIO \u2013 For Santiago Bueno, Sept. 11, 2001, is not simply a date in American history. It is a day he remembers from inside the Pentagon.<\/p>\n
On that significant day, Bueno was serving as a U.S. Army captain, working at the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked and crashed into the building.<\/p>\n
The attack was one of four coordinated terrorist attacks that morning. Two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, another struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a fourth crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew attempted to regain control of the plane.<\/p>\n
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks, including passengers and crew members aboard the four planes, people working in and around the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and 343 New York City firefighters, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers.<\/p>\n
The attacks would reshape the country, launch years of war and leave a lasting impact on millions of Americans, including the service members who answered the call in the years that followed.<\/p>\n
For Bueno, the history is personal. And 25 years later, he still remembers the destruction and the people who immediately rushed to help.<\/p>\n
Bueno was the youngest member of his office.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw the fireball go up above the walls and we kind of freaked out a little bit,\u201d Bueno told KSAT.<\/p>\n
Bueno and his colleagues quickly shut down their operations, secured sensitive material and evacuated the building. But stepping outside made the reality of the attack impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat struck me is when we walked out, there were plane parts on the ground,\u201d Bueno said. \u201cSo you could see lines and parts of the plane on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
The evacuation quickly became a massive effort to help those still inside. Bueno said people with medical training were organized to help the injured, while others moved back toward the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a sight to see because you saw senior enlisted, you saw generals lining people up,\u201d Bueno said. \u201cEverybody was there to help the folks trapped in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Bueno, the response was one of the defining memories of that day. He said watching people put themselves in danger to help others was difficult to fully comprehend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe heroism that was shown on that day between D.C. and New York, I mean, it\u2019s profound to even speak and think about it even to this day,\u201d Bueno said.<\/p>\n
The aftermath also brought uncertainty, he added. Cellphone service was not working, transportation systems were shut down and thousands of people were trying to find a way home. Bueno eventually made his way back to Fort Belvoir, where he lived at the time. He remembers the security checks, the long journey home and the moment he finally saw his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of self-reflection,\u201d Bueno said. \u201cThen when I got home, just hugging and kissing my wife and the kiddos.\u201d<\/p>\n
The attacks also changed the direction of Bueno\u2019s military career. At the time, he had been considering leaving the Army.<\/p>\n
However, after 9\/11, he said he felt he could not walk away from his oath or from the soldiers he had trained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told my wife, \u2018I can\u2019t do it,\u2019\u201d Bueno said. \u201cI\u2019ve got to stay in.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went on to serve 21 years in the Army. Today, he serves in a different capacity as the senior Army instructor at Brackenridge High School in San Antonio.<\/p>\n
His office is filled with photographs, awards and memorabilia from his military career. Students often ask about the items and his experiences.<\/p>\n
Bueno said he wants to help students learn how to think, make decisions and become better citizens.<\/p>\n
His experience on 9\/11 remains part of that perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t sometimes control the situation,\u201d Bueno said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t ready for that situation. But what you can control is how you react to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the 25th anniversary approaches, Bueno told KSAT it is important for younger generations to understand the sacrifices made on Sept. 11, particularly by the first responders who ran toward the danger.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a servant leader, sometimes you don\u2019t understand fully the situation that you\u2019re going into, but you\u2019ve got to go into it anyway,\u201d Bueno said.<\/p>\n
Bueno added that the memories of that day remain vivid in his mind.<\/p>\n
He said remembering 9\/11 means more than looking back at the tragedy. It means honoring the lives lost, the first responders who answered the call and the service members who continued to serve in the years that followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just have to respect those that came before us and understand what they gave so that we are still free,\u201d Bueno said.<\/p>\n
Read also:<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 For Santiago Bueno, Sept. 11, 2001, is not simply a date in American history. It…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432464,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[17802,19342,6915,2672,82,84,83],"class_list":["post-432463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-9-11","tag-brackenridge-high-school","tag-first-responders","tag-military","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}