ASHEVILLE - Twenty five years ago, U.S. Army Col. Peter Champagne was working in the Pentagon as a member of a special operations unit that was combating terrorism.
"On 9/11, we were watching the news just like everybody else in the command center. When the second plane hit the tower, we knew it was not just an accident. It was a terrorist act," Champagne told the Citizen Times Sept. 11. "The office I was worked on supported the Secretary of Defense, … so we had to get together and figure out what we were going to do."
When the Pentagon was struck by the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, Champagne stayed to help.
"Immediately in the aftermath, I just started helping evacuate people. The nature of my job required me to stay there an additional
36 hours. I couldn't leave," Champagne said. "I just remember the smoke and the smell in the building because of the explosion and the fire, it was just really something unbelievable."
Champagne arrived early Friday to the Asheville Fire Department's 2026 ceremony honoring 9/11 and the lives that were lost. His friend, Lt. Col. Robert "Kip" Taylor, was killed when the plane hit the Pentagon, leaving behind a pregnant wife, Nancy, and a small child.
"He was right at the point of impact when the plane hit the Pentagon," Champagne said. "That son never felt the arms of his father around him." Adding to the sense of family tragedy, Taylor's wife died of cancer two years later, Champagne said.
"It put a face for me on what 9/11 was really about, so that's why I try every year to go to some kind of ceremony to remember all of our fallen comrades," he added.
NYC firefighter with Waynesville residence recollects on Twin Towers attack
New York City firefighter Kevin Kustka, who has a home in Waynesville, also attended Asheville's ceremony.
He said that he was at his fire station in Queens when the attack occurred.
He and other firefighters assembled at Shea Stadium and rode a bus into Manhattan, traveling to Ground Zero. From there, he was assigned a reconnaissance mission to find the perimeter of the “hot zone,” or the area of impact.
He said his experience on 9/11 has strengthened his determination to continue rescue and recovery efforts after an emergency.
“It just makes firefighters stronger in their bonds every time they go out the door, to not only support each other but to be stronger, to rescue innocent people from any tragedy, or incident, or fire or emergency,” he said.
How 9/11 helped Asheville fire official find career path
Asheville Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Chris Budzinski told the Citizen Times that he was a 25-year-old student at UNC Charlotte on Sept. 11, 2001.
“I was actually at home that morning,” he said.
He said that 9/11 solidified his desire to become a firefighter.
“It’s critical for us to honor today because of the sacrifice that the firefighters and the police officers and the other first responders made,” he said. “They put themselves before others, and that is so critical to remember and reinforce for today’s firefighters, police officers, and first responders.”
He said that it made him understand more clearly that “every call, every incident, it’s so important for us to be prepared for what that could hold.”
Budzinski also spoke during the ceremony, saying that 343 members of the Fire Department of New York lost their lives in the line of duty that day, along with 37 officers of the Port Authority Police Department, 23 officers from the New York City Police Department, and special agents from the FBI and Secret Service and officers from the state of New York.
"It remains the largest single loss of emergency responders in history," Budzinski said, and thousands more have died in the 25 years since of illnesses caused from working at Ground Zero.
Lesson from Sept. 11: 'To be there when we are needed the most'
Interim Asheville Police Chief Jackie Stepp spoke at the 9/11 ceremony in Asheville. She said that the day was intended to honor the lives that were lost.
“Each person had a life, a story and someone who loved them,” she said.
She said that 9/11 carries a special meaning for public safety professionals.
“Twenty five years ago, firefighters, police officers and others ran toward unimaginable danger. Many never came home. We remember their courage, their sacrifice, but we also remember what their actions represented.”
She said that 9/11 reaffirms the commitment these workers have to their communities today.
“To serve with the same courage, selflessness and dedication, to be there when we are needed the most and to never take for granted the trust that this community has placed in us,” she said.
Kara Fohner is the Public Safety Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email her at kfohner@usatodayco.com or call her at 980-241-8671.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: 'I could not leave,' Pentagon survivor recalls 9/11 on 25th anniversary
