Chatfield Man Recounts Memories of 9/11 at the Pentagon

At Fort Myer, located next to the Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon, and now named Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, it was a beautiful day as Carey Welder and his unit spent their morning training. Welder, who grew up outside of Blue Earth, Minnesota, had enlisted in the Army right out of high school in 1999.

“I knew I wanted to do my duty to the country,” Welder said, adding that both sides of his family have an extensive history of service going back several generations. He was serving in the 3rd US Infantry Regiment, also known as The Old Guard. The Old Guard is the Army’s ceremonial unit, serving at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, funerals in Arlington National Cemetery, and escort to the president. It also is the Quick Reaction Force infantry unit for Washington, D.C. in times of national emergencies or civil unrest. “We spent half our time doing ceremonies and public stuff, and the other half in the woods doing infantry training,” Welder explained.

Word-of-mouth news reached the unit that morning of a plane hitting World Trade Center 1, but they didn’t think much of it until they heard that World Trade Center 2 had also been hit by another plane. “We immediately switched our focus,” Welder said. “We quit our training for the day and went into our Quick Reaction mode.” Fort Myer was near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, so Welder and his unit were used to hearing airplanes flying overhead, but something caught their attention. “This one sounded different. Closer, louder,” Welder said. “And then we heard the large explosion and that’s when the Pentagon was hit. Soon after that, half the sky was black.”

Welder’s unit was sent to their armory at Fort Lesley J. McNair across the Potomoc River for weapons and ammo. “We were ready to defend the nation’s capitol,” Welder said. Rumors were flying that there would be more planes, bombs, etc. Some of the unit went to the Pentagon to form a perimeter while the rest of the unit, Welder included, headed out to track down any car bombings or terrorists in the D.C. area. After an hour or two, they too were sent to the Pentagon. “We went into search and rescue mode,” Welder said. “We were all young and gung ho. We could see and hear people suffering inside. Our brothers and sisters in arms were inside.” The Arlington Fire Department refused to let them in the building until they had secured the area due to continuing collapse. “If it hadn’t been for the fire department, we probably would have rushed inside, and there would have been more casualties,” Welder explained.

Once inside, they began to rescue who they could. “There was a lot more recovery of remains than rescue, unfortunately,” Welder said. The FBI was on the scene and briefed everyone on the protocols as the Pentagon was considered a crime scene. For three days straight, Welder and his unit worked on site, checking corridors and rooms for victims who had died of smoke inhalation, and working in the crash area removing all the remnants to a nearby parking lot for staging, stopping only to go back to base a few times to change gear and eat. Each time human remains were found, they were draped with a flag and everybody on site would stop working out of respect while taps was played. “We couldn’t tell if they were a passenger, a terrorist, or a service member,” Welder recalled. “Not knowing who they might be, we did it for everybody.”

Welder remembers feeling absolutely helpless that day. “We were a highly trained unit without an enemy to fight back,” he said. Instead, all they could do is rescue as many as they were able to and pay respect to the remains. It wasn’t until Tuesday night that Welder and his unit were able to inform their families of their status, assuring them that they were, in fact, alive. The day had been fraught with rumors and the unknown, but by then, things had calmed down.

It took three weeks to have everything moved to the parking lot and then several more weeks were spent combing through the debris and determining whether each piece was part of the building, plant parts, or human remains. “It was a weird juxtaposition,” Welder said. “We would be in the Pentagon seeing the worst of humanity and then going back to base for a change of clothes and meals and while we were on the interstate, people would be hanging out of vehicles chanting ‘USA’ and so supportive.” After a recent presidential election which had divided the country, seeing the unity, support, and respect for the military kept Welder going during those early days. He found it very healing when a five-sided granite marker was installed at the Arlington National Cemetery a year after the attacks memorializing the 184 people who died on American Airlines Flight 77 and in the Pentagon.

Welder was discharged from the Army in 2003. He then moved to rural Chatfield. Since then, he has visited Washington, D.C. several times. While there with his wife one time, they visited the Pentagon Memorial. “It was very surreal to go back there,” he said. His wife gave him his distance so he could sit at the memorial for about half an hour. “I broke down once. It was just weird knowing that I was there when it happened.”

Welder now works as the finance director at the Veterans Home in Preston. Although he doesn’t work directly with the residents, he does spend time talking and laughing with them. “It’s therapeutic for them and me,” Welder said. “I couldn’t ask for a better gig.”