WASHINGTON — Two civilians who saved several victims of the Sept. 11 Pentagon attacks were honored this week with the Medal of Valor.
The two men were both driving near the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 hit the building. Eric M. Jones pulled a burning firefighter to safety, while Steve A. DeChiaro carried victims to a medical triage station where they could be treated.
In addition to the flames, the walls of the building were caving in, the air was filled with smoke and noxious fumes, the floor was covered with water and debris and building materials and fixtures were hanging haphazardly above the heads of rescuers, Defense Department officials said.
Lt. Gen. John A. Van Alstyne, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy, presented the medals during a brief ceremony held Tuesday in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.
The medals are the highest awards made to civilians by the U.S. Department of Defense. They are given for acts of courage and valor.
Jones, 25, is a medical student and volunteer firefighter with the Hyattsville unit of the Prince Georges County, Md., Fire and EMS Department. He was driving through nearby Arlington, Va., when he saw the plane slam into the Pentagon's northwest outer wall. The impact of the jet cut through three of the five rings of offices that serve as headquarters for the nation's armed services.
After rescuing a firefighter whose protective clothing had caught fire as he battled the blaze from a ladder, Jones returned to assist other victims.
"We really didn't have time to think about anything else but getting people out of the fire," said Jones.
DeChiaro, an engineer and Defense Department contractor, was heading to the Pentagon for a meeting. After feeling the impact of the crash, he headed toward the scene and carried several injured people from the rubble to a forward aid station, where paramedics and emergency medical technicians were selecting victims most in need of immediate medical attention.
The Pentagon attack claimed 184 victims, including 59 passengers and crew members aboard the aircraft and 125 people who were in the complex at the time.