Jesse's Army unit at the time of the September 11 attacks.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
THE DAY EVERYTHING CHANGED.
Jesse Johnson-Brower served with the U.S. Army's 3rd United States Infantry Regiment. After American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon, Jesse's company was the first military unit to arrive.
American Airlines Flight 77 struck at 9:37 a.m.
Jesse's company was the first military unit to arrive after the impact.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
SEPTEMBER 11 WASN'T HISTORY YET.
It was happening in real time. New York had already been attacked. The second tower had been struck. Then Flight 77 hit the Pentagon.
Jesse was serving in the Army with the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment. His company became the first military unit to arrive at the Pentagon after Flight 77 struck.
What followed was not something anyone in the unit could fully understand in that moment. The country was under attack, and they had been called into it.
THE PENTAGON
9:37 A.M. FLIGHT 77 STRIKES.
American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon. The building was burning, emergency crews were responding, and the scale of the attack was still becoming clear.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
The Pentagon became a battlefield at home.
THAT MORNING
THREE MOMENTS. ONE ATTACK.
8:46 A.M.
Flight 11 hits the North Tower.
American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
9:03 A.M.
Flight 175 hits the South Tower.
United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower, confirming that the country is under coordinated attack.
9:37 A.M.
Flight 77 strikes the Pentagon.
American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
THE 3RD U.S. INFANTRY REGIMENT
THE FIRST MILITARY UNIT IN.
Jesse's company was the first military unit to arrive at the Pentagon after Flight 77 struck. They were soldiers responding to an attack on American soil.
THE MEN WHO WERE THERE
A UNIT THAT CARRIED IT FORWARD.
The men who responded that day did not know what the next hours, days, or years would bring.
Many later deployed into the wars that followed September 11. Over time, the group would lose brothers to combat, suicide, and 9/11-related illness.
Jesse refers to that group as the Forgotten Band of Brothers.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
REMEMBER THE LOST. HONOR THE LIVING.
For Jesse, September 11 is not a distant historical event. It is the day his Army unit was called into one of the defining moments in American history. The people, the service, and the losses remain personal.