CLINTON TOWNSHIP (WXYZ) — A Pentagon survivor stood before a crowd in Clinton Township on Friday — the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks — to share what he witnessed firsthand when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building.
Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Larry Powell was the keynote speaker at Clinton Township's annual Patriot Day ceremony at Resurrection Cemetery. He was 100 yards from the point of impact when the plane hit.
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Powell said he had just returned from a morning run when a colleague delivered the first piece of devastating news.
"And I got back to my office after running and was just getting settled in, someone came into the office and said a plane had just hit the World Trade Center," Powell said.
Later, the Pentagon became the next target.
"I was walking down the stairs, and I heard an explosion, I felt the building shake," Powell said.
When asked how close he felt he came to dying that day, Powell said the distance gave him perspective.
"I don't think I ever felt like I was close to dying but I was within 100 yards of where the plane hit so I felt lucky I was that far away," Powell said.
184 people died at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Powell said he and his colleagues did what they could to help others reach safety before firefighters turned them back.
"There were a couple of people we helped get on a stretcher, most of them were walking, we were probably still halfway to that impact area when the firefighters said you guys don't have the equipment you can't come in, too hot anyway to get people out of there," Powell said.
Powell said events like Friday's ceremony serve a purpose that history books cannot.
"I think it's really important for things like this where you actually talk to a Larry Powell who comes out and tells you his story about where he was that day, it's not just something that happened or you learn about in a history book," Powell said.
Ashley Brouwer, a Macomb County first responder who was just 1 year old on Sept. 11, 2001, attended the ceremony and said meeting a survivor made the tragedy feel real in a way it never had before.
"You always kinda see movies, TV shows, you never get to actually meet somebody who was there and experienced the tragedy," Brouwer said.
Brouwer said she worries younger generations may not fully grasp the weight of what happened that day.
"I do feel like the younger generation has this they understand a little bit of the importance but they don't get the full grasp of the entirety of the situation," Brouwer said.
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