Army decorates military,
civilian heroes of Pentagon attack
By Lisa Burgess,
Washington bureau
WASHINGTON — Army Secretary Thomas White granted awards Wednesday to Army civilian
and military personnel who distinguished themselves in the aftermath of the Sept. 11
attack on the Pentagon.
White and other senior Army officials praised the courage and fortitude of the
honorees, some who risked their lives repeatedly to run back into the burning Pentagon to
rescue both their co-workers and complete strangers.
"In one horrible moment, they were united by a common bond of shared humanity and
the simple belief that the life of another person is more important than their own,"
White said.
White distributed five types of awards during the simple ceremony, which was conducted
with less pomp and circumstance than most of the events marking the Sept. 11 attacks.
Among the honorees were 25 soldiers awarded the Soldier’s Medal, the Army’s
highest peacetime decoration. Three Army civilians were given the equivalent medal for
bravery, the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service.
Another 25 soldiers were given the Purple Heart, a medal that is traditionally awarded
to military personnel killed or wounded in wartime. The Purple Heart criteria were
expanded in 1973 to include international terrorist attacks.
Nineteen civilians who were injured in the attack were presented with a new award, the
Defense of Freedom Medal, which Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld commissioned in
September as a civilian equivalent of the Purple Heart.
"I saw exactly what I should have seen" on Sept. 11, said Sgt. Major of the
Army Jack Tilley. "Americans coming to the aid of fallen comrades."
Tilley said that the honorees "showed us what is good and right about our Army and
our country … all of you are heroes."
The Army medals are the first of what is likely to be a series of awards for bravery in
the Pentagon attack that will be granted by both military and civilian organizations, a
senior Army officer said.
In the wake of the attack, the Army was inundated with nominations for awards —
"four single-spaced, typed pages," the officer said — and adjudicators did
not have time to process all of the applications before Wednesday’s ceremony.
The officer did not know whether the Army will hold more awards ceremonies or if
additional medals will be presented in smaller, less public groups.
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