Staff Writer
It takes more than just brains and buff to be a good Soldier, you’ve got to have heart. This was the message 9/11 Pentagon survivor, retired Sgt. Maj. Tony Rose, had for Co. B 1/46th Inf. (Co. 7) at Waybur Theater Tuesday.
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| Sgt. Maj. Tony Rose spoke to Bravo Co. Cadets (Co. 7) about his survival of the Pentagon attack on 9/11. Rose spoke about leadership and his 31 years of serving the Army. Photo by Ryan Stone |
Rose interspered life lessons between relating personal experiences to his audience.
One of those experiences he focused on was his 9/11 experience.
Rose was in the Pentagon telling a co-worker they needed to be alert after the World Trade Center attacks when American Airlines flight 77, travelling at more than 500 mph, crashed through the second floor of his office building. He said the impact of the plane threw his across the room where he hit a column, knocking the wind out of him
“I had the choice to run or to help,” he said of his options imediately after the crash. “My head said run, but my heart said no, my battle buddy’s still in here.”
Rose said the fire from the crash reached 2,300 degrees. It was so hot some of his co-workers closer to the impact were vaporized.
“We were barricaded in the office, so the fire department couldn’t reach us, so we were the fire fighters,” Rose said. “It was our job to do. And we will not leave a job undone.”
The only things on his desk that survived the fire were a little wooden painted Uncle Sam his mom had given him, his name tag, which was three layers thinner from melting, and his Three Stooges mug his past troops had given him.
“It was just me, the Three Stooges, Uncle Sam, and Jesus that day,” he said.
Rose worked for the Pentagon for four years. He retired from there about a year after 9/11.
Rose encouraged the Cadets to know their enemy and train so they will be ready for them.
He screamed “Boo!” shortly after saying this to illustrate his point, causing a couple of Cadets to jump in shock.
“This is why you need to learn how to lead... because if you don’t, then you will become a victim of it,” he said.
In addition to travelling around the world to speak, Rose recently received his license to be a mental health counselor. Currently his focus is troubled youth.
Cadet Melissa Sandefur, who attends the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said she was moved by Rose’s speech.
“He’s a real hero, he didn’t even think twice about the situation and saved his buddies,” she said.
While the majority of his speech focused on his 9/11 experience, some Cadets pulled inspiration from other points he made.
“You are never too old to do something,” Rose said during one part of his presentation. “Live your life with no regrets.”
Cadet Viviana Sauceda, who attends the University of Texas at Brownsville, said Rose’s attitude of perseverance impressed her.
Sauceda, who is 31 years old Cadet, says that is exactly what she needed to hear.
The Harlingen, Texas, native said she always wanted to join the Army, but after two knee surgeries in high school she was told she couldn’t qualify when she graduated.
Thirteen years later, she was given the chance again to join, and she was not about to let it slip away.
“I’m aching here and there, but I’m still here,” Sauceda said.