A quarter of a century has passed since the morning the world fundamentally shifted. Yet, for those who lived through the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the memories remain razor-sharp.
While twenty-five years have dulled the immediate shock of the strikes on the World Trade Center, Shanksville, and the Pentagon, the enduring impact on local communities remains unmistakable. For retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Russell Jamison, now a resident of eastern North Carolina, the day did not just change history—it permanently reshaped his identity.
Fifty Yards from Impact
In the summer of 2001, Jamison was a Program Analyst freshly transferred from Camp Lejeune to the Pentagon. On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, he was in the middle of briefing a group of general officers when security officials abruptly began pulling leadership out of the room.
Shortly after Jamison returned to his own office, American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building.
"The plane penetrated all the way into basically the B ring," Jamison recalled. "And since I was in the A ring, I wasn’t immediately impacted by the plane directly."
Though he escaped direct physical harm, the aircraft came to a stop just 50 yards from his desk.
While the loss of 184 lives at the Pentagon was catastrophic, Jamison notes that a twist of logistical timing prevented a significantly higher death toll. The Headquarters of the Marine Corps was transitioning into newly renovated space at the Pentagon and was scheduled to move up to 5,000 personnel into those exact offices just two days later. Because the tragedy occurred on a Tuesday instead of Thursday, those spaces sat empty.
"That in and of itself saved a lot of lives," Jamison said.
From Fury to Fatherhood
For an active-duty Marine, the immediate aftermath of the attack brought a wave of raw anger.
"That day I was furious," Jamison said. "I was full of vitriol and hate for the cowardly ba****rds that did this. As an active duty Marine, I was ready to go exact revenge and, you know, kick ass** and take names."
Yet, alongside the smoke and fury, life insisted on moving forward. Just months later, Jamison welcomed a profound new source of comfort and purpose. His only child, Paige, a daughter born a month premature, arrived the following May. Navigating the immense gratitude of fatherhood alongside the weight of a national tragedy defined his emotional trajectory for decades to come.
Jamison went on to serve in Iraq before retiring from the military in 2007. When it came time to settle permanently, he and his wife Carol chose to move their family back to eastern North Carolina. Neither were natives of the area, but the decision was driven by the overwhelming grace of the local community.
"I remember how this community, people in this town, people I didn’t even know, looked out for Carol, took care of her and Paige while I was gone," Jamison said, noting the neighbors who checked on his family on 9/11 and during subsequent deployments. "And of course, certainly you can’t complain about being near the beach, can you?"
Remembering Eastern North Carolina's Fallen
While Jamison found a home in a community that embraced him, other families across North Carolina have spent the last 25 years mourning empty seats at their tables.
Among those killed at the Pentagon was Navy Electronics Technician Third Class Christopher Lee Burford, a 23-year-old native of Hubert, North Carolina (Onslow County). Known to friends and comrades as “Cheetah,” Burford had been stationed at the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Telecommunications Center since June 2000. Today, a memorial bench stands in his honor at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.
North Carolina shares the grief of several other families lost that day, including:
- Sandra W. Bradshaw of Greensboro, a flight attendant who bravely fought back aboard United Airlines Flight 93.
- Sandra Teague of Granite Falls, a passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 77.
- Commander Eric Allen Cranford, a U.S. Navy officer originally from Drexel, who died at the Pentagon.
An Enduring Duty
Reflecting on a quarter-century of perspective, Jamison invokes the words of Abraham Lincoln to remind a generation born after 2001 that memory is an active responsibility.
"‘A nation with little regard for its past will do little worth remembering in the future,’" Jamison quoted. "So, our first duty is to remember, but part of that remembering is to translate what happened there into what we face today."
For Jamison, 9/11 remains a permanent lens. "It taught me resilience. It certainly sharpened my sense of purpose, forced me to reconcile the weight of sacrifice with the privilege of leading Marines in defense of our nation."
Twenty-five years later, the promise made by a grieving nation stands unbroken in eastern North Carolina: We have not forgotten.
