A quarter-century later, 9/11 still shapes Pentagon worker’s life

Please take care as you read, as this article mentions suicide and other forms of trauma. If you need help, call or text the988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

Black soot coated the hallway’s linoleum tiles, so thick Susan Lukas could see her footprints.

Her throat burned as she climbed the stairs to her office. Hot, stinging tears rimmed her eyes. When she got there, a layer of dust and debris blanketed her desk. She wiped it away, sat down and began to work. By lunchtime, her head throbbed.

On the opposite side of the Pentagon, emergency responders searched through rubble for victims. They fought jet fuel-flamed infernos smoldering along the building’s roof.

During her drive in along Interstate 395 on Sept. 12, Lukas caught an unwanted glimpse of the site where American Airlines Flight 77 had struck the Pentagon the day before, killing all 64 people onboard and 125 inside.

She tried to push the image out of her mind – tried not to remember the feeling of the plane’s impact, the uncannily quiet evacuation and the dazed woman in the parking deck.

Speaking at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/