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Arlington Remembers: An Oral History of 9/11
As part of Arlington Public Library's commemoration of the fifth anniversary of 9/11, we conducted a series of interviews with first responders and others to share their stories and memories of that time.
Use the "In This Section" sidebar at right to read and hear excerpts from the collection. The complete recordings and transcripts are available in Central Library's Virginia Room.
Following is a short excerpt from the oral history of Arlington County Fire Chief James H. Schwartz, who was deputy fire chief on 9/11 and designated Incident Commander at the Pentagon.
When asked to describe one image of that time, Chief Schwartz responded:
"...It is impossible for me to identify one image. There are so many and most of them really create an emotion in me that is hard to contain. Certainly driving down Washington Boulevard that morning was one of them.
One that really does stick in my mind is looking across that west lawn [of the Pentagon] and seeing the devastation but at the same time just seeing so many people dedicated to helping others. The grit and the grime and the dirt of the job of firefighting.
Looking at the unbelievable fatigue on the faces of the people in the fire department was remarkable, but it was remarkable because there was such energy and a sense of dedication and commitment that came right through that fatigue. Those guys did things that were unbelievable. That is certainly an image and a memory that is ingrained in my mind."
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