Donald Rumsfeld Pentagon Crash Response

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld sat in his Pentagon office when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building. Instead of heading immediately to a secure command center, he rushed down to the crash site, walked through the smoke and debris, and personally inspected the damage while helping with the initial response. During this period, he was effectively out of communication with the national command structure for about 20 minutes while the United States was under attack.

Previous Fact Next Fact