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Date published: 2/10/2001
See a video interview with
Kevin Shaeffer.
ARLINGTON--The Pentagon is where the soldier and the sailor met on that infamous day in September. And that's where they returned yesterday to be honored by a grateful nation. Retired Navy Lt. Kevin Shaeffer and Army Sgt. 1st Class Steve Workman were awarded medals in the defense building's Hall of Heroes. Shaeffer, a 30-year-old Stafford County resident, was given the Purple Heart for burns and respiratory injuries he suffered when terrorists attacked the Pentagon Sept. 11. Workman received the Soldier's Medal for helping save Shaeffer's life. Shaeffer was the only person who made it out of the Navy Command Center alive, and he was moved nearly to tears yesterday as he recalled coworkers who were killed. Grief seemed to swallow his voice as he tried to get each name out. Burns on Shaeffer's face and protective gloves were the only apparent signs of his ordeal. But, for perspective, he took the crowd through his journey out of the tattered Pentagon. Though severely burned, he said he kept working his way through the remains of offices until he was outside. "The next thing I saw was Steve, and from that moment I knew I was in good hands," he said. Workman, who lives at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, stayed with Shaeffer that day and has provided support since. "It's quite a friendship that's formed through this ordeal," Lt. Gen. Kevin Byrnes, director of Army staff, said before pinning on Workman's medal for heroism. At the end of the ceremony, which lasted less than an hour, Shaeffer recalled a recent moment at home with his wife, Navy Lt. Blanca Shaeffer. The couple were watching television and a commercial caught their attention. It noted the identities of several people, their occupations and what made them who they are. Kevin Shaeffer asked his wife who he was. Her answer was obvious but apt: a survivor. That's right, Shaeffer answered. "I'm a survivor. "Not a hero," he told the crowd of about 150 yesterday, many of whom were in dress uniform. "Steve Workman's a hero. "But I'm a survivor."
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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