A newly completed documentary series is giving the public a firsthand look at the emergency response inside and outside the Pentagon in the days immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Pentagon Response Series, presented by the 9/11 Legacy Foundation in partnership with video producer Jude Coke, draws from footage recorded from Sept. 11-13, 2001. The six installments were released monthly from April through September 2026, with the final video completing the series ahead of the 25-year remembrance of the attacks.
Coke and her two-person crew — cameraman Billy DeWeese and firefighter and emergency response content adviser Christopher DeWolf — had traveled to the East Coast for a routine firefighter training video assignment with the Baltimore City Fire Department. After learning that American Airlines Flight 77 had struck the Pentagon, they headed toward Washington and followed firefighters being mobilized for the response.
Their background producing emergency responder training content, combined with DeWolf’s fire service experience, helped the team establish credibility with incident command, Coke shared. They ultimately received permission to document the response on behalf of the Arlington County (Va.) Fire Department. Coke recalled the shock and responsibility of the moment:
An operational record from inside the response
American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon’s west side at 9:38 a.m. The attack killed 184 victims: 125 people in the building and 59 passengers and crew members aboard the aircraft. Arlington County Fire Department Assistant Chief Jim Schwartz served as incident commander for the fire and rescue operation, which continued for 10 days.
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Coke’s crew recorded the IC’s directing operations, urban search and rescue personnel working in and around the structure, the debris field and the interior impact area. The footage also captured the coordination required to sustain a complex multi-agency response.
Much of the footage was initially used within the emergency responder training community. Coke produced an hourlong training program about the Pentagon response in the weeks after the attack, and copies of the original material were provided to the Arlington County Fire Department and the FBI.
Over time, Coke’s collection became the only known surviving complete archive of the footage, according to the foundation:
COVID sidetracked her initial efforts, but in 2024, she resumed her plan to not only protect the material but also make it available to a wider audience.
The resulting six installments each focus on a different aspect of the response and the people involved:
- Part 1: Called Into Service
- Part 2: The Threshold
- Part 3: Lines of Support
- Part 4: A Symbol of Resilience
- Part 5: Words Still Echo
- Part 6: Our Legacy, Our Choice
Honoring a friend and colleague
The series also preserves the contribution of DeWolf, who later traveled to New York to continue documenting the emergency response there. He died in the line of duty in 2005.
Coke has said preserving the footage became one way to carry forward the work he helped begin:
Connecting a new generation to 9/11
The Pentagon Response Series is part of the 9/11 Legacy Foundation’s broader effort to preserve firsthand accounts and develop educational resources for people who have no personal memory of the attacks. The foundation’s work includes oral histories, educational materials, a memorial map, a collection of personal accounts and other projects tied to the 25-year remembrance.
Watch the series
The complete six-part Pentagon Response Series is available through the 9/11 Legacy Foundation and on YouTube:
Part 1: Called Into Service (4 minutes)
Coke introduces the Pentagon Response Series and shows the first moments at the scene of the Pentagon.
Part 2: The Threshold (7 minutes)
Before entering the debris field, the crew paused and asked a single question: “Are we sure we want to do this?” This video shows rare footage captured alongside first responders within hours of the Pentagon attack, including scenes from inside the Pentagon impact zone where C Ring was breached.
Part 3: Lines of Support (4 minutes)
Search and rescue teams moved through unstable structures in search of victims, while fire crews worked to suppress active hotspots, and medical personnel triaged and transported the injured across a regional hospital network. Command staff coordinated operations in real time.
Part 4: A Symbol of Resilience (4 minutes)
By September 12, 2001, the mission had changed to one of recovery. This video captures the story of the Marine Corps flag that remained standing inside a fourth-floor office after the Pentagon’s collapse tore away the wall around it. For many working the scene, it became a quiet symbol of resilience during one of the darkest chapters of the response.
Part 5: Words Still Echo (5 minutes)
The crew asked responders and others they encountered from across the fire service, to share their reflections as the nation struggled to understand what had happened. Their thoughts were captured as the full magnitude of the tragedy was still unfolding.
Part 6: Our Legacy, Our Choice (7 minutes)
The final chapter of the 9/11 Pentagon Response Series reflects on the meaning of that response, the people who lived it and the impact it continues to have.
