WALWORTH COUNTY, Wis. — Ryan Yantis' life changed forever on September 11, 2001. He was inside of The Pentagon when Flight 77 crashed into it and he has spent the last 25 years managing the grief by sharing his story.
"When somebody slides up beside me and says, 'You were in the Pentagon, what was that like?' It's like a needle-jerk scratch on a record," Yantis said.
Yantis, an Army veteran, was working for the Army's public affairs office when the 9/11 terror attack unfolded. He remembers watching the planes hit the World Trade Center shortly before Flight 77 hit his building.
"When I saw the second plane hit, it was very clear to me that it was deliberate and we were under attack," Yantis said. "I remember telling one of my co-workers who was nine months pregnant, 'Get your stuff and go home, I want you out of here.'"
125 people inside of the Pentagon and 59 people on Flight 77 were killed in the attack.
Yantis said he was sheltered in the Pentagon's Army Operations Center when Flight 77 struck. When he emerged, he said he scoured the building for anyone who needed help.
"I just focused on what was in front of me and immediate," Yantis said. "I was running around carrying stretchers and getting medical supplies."
He returned to The Pentagon for work on September 12, and other co-workers soon followed.
"You'd see someone you haven't seen since September 11 and say, 'You're alive, it's good to see you again," Yantis said.
Yantis is now retired from active duty in Walworth County. He has spent recent years giving presentations at schools, where the students and some teachers are now too young to remember 9/11.
"My pregnant co-worker, her baby was born a couple of weeks later after 9/11," Yantis said. "He's now a college graduate."
He also has several tattoos in remembrance of 9/11 and in honor of his continued survival through post-traumatic stress disorder.
"This tattoo of Winnie The Pooh reminds me that PTSD is not a death sentence, it's just another piece of baggage that you've got to take care of," Yantis said.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
