Twenty-five years have passed since terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001, but for Jeff Rife, the memories of that morning remain vivid.
Rife was 27 and in his third week working as an Air Force contractor at the Pentagon. Like millions of Americans, he watched television coverage as hijacked airplanes struck the World Trade Center towers in New York.
Then the attack reached him.
“We were watching the World Trade Center attacks on TV when alarms started going off, telling us to evacuate immediately,” Rife said. “As soon as we stepped outside, there was thick black smoke everywhere, and we headed straight to our designated meeting spot to get a headcount.”
American Airlines Flight 77 had crashed into the western side of the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. The attack killed 184 people — 125 inside the building and 59 passengers and crew members aboard the airplane. That total does not include the five hijackers.
Rife escaped without injury, but his family in Southwest Virginia did not immediately know he was safe.
A newspaper article published shortly after the attacks described the anxious wait endured by his mother, Barbara Rife, who was working as a teacher’s aide at Vansant Elementary School.
“It seemed like it was days, but it was probably 20-25 minutes from the time I’d heard on TV that the Pentagon was bombed and the time I heard his voice and knew he was alive,” she said at the time. “Everything was going through my mind. When I picked up the phone and heard him say, ‘Hello Mom,’ I just broke down and cried.”
For Rife, however, leaving the Pentagon on Sept. 11 did not mean leaving his responsibilities behind. Although part of the building was still burning, he returned the following morning.
“Despite the building still burning, I went back to work at the Pentagon the next morning to support the mission and help with what was next,” Rife said.
The attacks claimed 2,977 lives at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Thousands more were injured, and countless families, survivors and first responders continued to feel the effects long afterward.
Rife said being inside the Pentagon that morning is an experience that has never left him. Yet amid the fear, destruction and uncertainty, he also remembers the unity that followed.
“What stands out most is how our nation came together in the aftermath, with everyone stepping up to help one another,” Rife said.
Across the country, people donated blood, displayed American flags, attended prayer services and reached out to help strangers. First responders rushed toward danger, while communities mourned the victims and supported their families.
For Rife, the anniversary is more than a date in history. It is a personal reminder of how quickly life can change and of the importance of remaining prepared.
“Being at the Pentagon that day reminds me that we must always stay vigilant and never let our guard down,” he said.
As the nation marks a quarter-century since the attacks, Rife continues to remember those who left home that morning and never returned.
“Twenty-five years later, we continue to honor and remember every life lost,” he said.
