I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next person but tell this lady there was no fire at the Pentagon on 9/11/2001!
Survivor
"But Louise Kurtz, 49, of Stafford County will never move on with her "normal" life. Terrorists violently ripped that from her on Sept. 11 because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because she showed up for work on time. Because she was an American.
Mrs. Kurtz was on her second day on the job at the Pentagon as a civilian accountant when the plane hijacked from Dulles slammed into the building. She suffered severe burns over 70 percent of her body, lost all of her fingers and parts of both ears.
The last Pentagon victim to be released from the hospital, three months after the attacks, Mrs. Kurtz endured more than 35 surgical procedures. Since then she has been learning how to be self-sufficient without fingers--attempting to complete tasks once done without thinking, but that now require Herculean mental and physical toughness, courage, and endurance."
Or these men!
Burn victims trying to adjust to changes
JOHN YATES can wash dishes again, but he can't grip his golf clubs.
He's back working full time at the Pentagon, but some days he gets to the building and immediately wants to turn around and go home.
So Yates, severely burned at the Pentagon a year ago today, says it's not so much that life is returning to normal as that he and his wife are getting used to a new definition of normal.
The 51-year-old Yates was one of three Fredericksburg-area residents severely burned in last year's attacks.
He'll be glad once today is over. It's been a year since he suffered second- and third-de-gree burns over 35 percent of his body, and the anniversary means closing one chapter of life and opening another.
"Another burn victim, retired Navy Lt. Kevin Shaeffer, said he will try to be positive today and look to the future while also remembering the past. "I'm trying to overcome my fears and persevere," he said.
Shaeffer, a 30-year-old Stafford resident, was burned over 41 percent of his body a year ago. He suffered second- and third-degree burns on his back, third-degree burns on his arms and hands and second- and third-degree burns on his face.
Shaeffer also suffered respiratory injuries. He was the only person who made it out of the Navy Command Center alive.
He said he is stronger than he expected at this point, but he still feels pain in his joints and must undergo monthly rehabilitation at Washington Hospital Center's burn unit.
Shaeffer retired from active duty after being burned."
