Kennett resident eyewitness to 9/11 attack, honored for saving lives

US Army Lt. Col. David Richardson, retired. Photo by Steve Hankins, staff.

KENNETT, Mo. - We all remember where we were on Sept. 11, 2001.

US Army Lt. Col. David Richardson never will forget.

“I was at the Pentagon and I saw the plane coming in,” Richardson said. “I was on the third floor, E Ring.”

Richardson, now a Kennett resident and Kennett Rotary Club president, explained the Pentagon is configured in rings A through E, A being the center, smallest of the five rings with E Ring being the outermost.

“I was a staff officer with the DESOPS office of the Army,” he said. “I did three tours at the Pentagon.”

Although skeptics have argued there was no proof of any aircraft crashing into the Pentagon, Richardson was quick to dispel those notions.

“I was in the hallway and I saw the plane coming in,” Richardson explained. “It was a plane and it came in the second floor of E Ring and I was one floor above it.

“I was in the hallway and ran back to my office,” he continued. “I hollered 'INCOMING!' and then there was a series of explosions. I just kept going back to help people get out. And that's why I was awarded the Soldiers Medal. It's for saving the life of another person while risking your own.”

The US Army Soldier's Medal is the greatest honor a soldier can receive for an act of valor in a non-combat situation, research revealed. It is of equal to or greater value than the level which would have justified an award of the Distinguished Flying Cross had the act occurred in combat.

The distinguishing criterion for awarding the Soldier's Medal, per US Army regulations is “The performance must have involved personal hazard or danger and the voluntary risk of life under conditions not involving conflict with an armed enemy.”

“I had no second thoughts about what needed to be done,” Richardson explained. “I just reacted.

“It was people I cared for in there that needed to come out,” he added. “And a calmness just swept over me.”

That calmness was the eye in the surprise attack's storm.

“I was scared initially,” Richardson said. “The explosions.

“The screaming and hollering of injured people,” he added. “Papers on fire on desks. I mean, I saw these violent things people just should never see. And suddenly a calmness came over me.”

And the sole explanation was one many would acknowledge.

“It had to be God,” Richardson said. “Everything was in slow motion.

“So I was doing all these things during all this time and I knew what I was doing,” he added. “But it was just a calmness that came over me that let me help all these people with everything in turmoil.”

It was a long day that continued aging exhaustively for Richardson.

“When we saw the second plane hit the World Trade Center we knew we were under attack,” he said. “So there was a sense of urgency.

“The Army Operations Center already had stood up when the second plane went through,” he added. “We got out before the floor collapsed and then once we got folks taken care of, because of all the

emergency response vehicles, there was no way I could get to my car. So I began walking to Fort Belvoir.”

Which was nearly 20 miles away, Richardson noted.

“We walked through Crystal City and Old Town,” he said. “My colonel's wife saw us and picked us up. “I had no hat,” he continued. “And my shirt was a little singed. It was a sad day.”

But his arrival on base was different, Richardson said.

“It was a very good day when I got home because my wife and kids met us at the gate,” he explained. “Fort Belvoir is a bedroom community for the Pentagon and we were living on base. That was one day I was glad to get home.”

A Vietnam combat veteran awarded Richardson his honor.

“US Army Gen. Jack Keane gave me the medal,” Richardson said. “He was the vice chief of staff for the Army.

“Four stars,” he added. “There were several of us from the Pentagon who received the medal. That was a humbling experience.”

And his actions resulted in an unforeseen, psychological tab, Richardson admitted.

“It is difficult to talk about,” he said. “I do have some issues.

“Like I see shadows where there should not be any,” he added. “I'll be driving, see a shadow and swerve.”

And, despite those perceived negatives, Richardson would change nothing.

“I would do it all again in a heartbeat,” he said. “I enjoyed my 30 years in the Army.”

And about a decade ago, Richardson left the DC area for the two best reasons.

“I came back for family,” he said. “This is my home.”