Modern Missions

“Then Came the Fire: Personal Accounts from the Pentagon,
11 September 2001”

Wednesday, September 30, 2026 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtual

The horrific events of 11 September 2001 are seared into the memories of many Americans and many others around the world. Out of the fires and rubble of those events have come a number of personal accounts that depict the initial shock of the attacks and their aftermath.

Retired U.S. Army historian Stephen J. Lofgren explores personal accounts of the attack on the Pentagon, based on hundreds of interviews with witnesses, first responders, and survivors of the Pentagon in the days immediately following the event.

Stephen J. Lofgren is the General Editor of “Then Came the Fire: Personal Accounts from the Pentagon, 11 September 2001,” published in 2011, by the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair, where he was a division chief.

Register for VIRTUAL Modern Missions on September 30 here

---

Attack on the Pentagon: Recollections of an Army Intelligence Officer on September 11

Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2026 | 12 p.m. ET | Virtual and In-person

Learn about the dramatic events of September 11, 2001, in the Washington area from a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who witnessed the actual day of attack on the Pentagon, the aftermath, and the response that followed. Peter Knight was an Army captain serving on the Army G-2 Foreign Intelligence Watch as a daily briefer to then Secretary of the Army Thomas E. White, Jr. and then Chief of Staff of the Army General Eric Shinseki at the Pentagon on September 11. Dr. Knight witnessed first-hand the Army senior leadership’s response to that event and was an active participant in keeping them informed.

Dr. Peter G. Knight is the Director of the Historical Studies section at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C., where he has served since September of 2017. He is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel with 23 years of service as a military intelligence officer, 1 combat tour in Iraq.

This program is offered VIRTUALLY and IN-PERSON on Tuesday, December 15, 2026. Museum guests may attend in-person. Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register for the VIRTUAL Modern Missions program on December 15.

Register for the IN-PERSON Modern Missions program on December 15.