Hannes, Kevin CDR
9/11 Pentagon Attack Oral History
“So that’s the first time I just sat down and started looking at the list. I knew all of these people, served with a third of them directly, either working for them, or having them work for me. That was a very sobering moment, but then we just blocked it out and went about our business.”
Date of Interview: 24 March 2002
Interviewer: CAPT Michael McDaniel, USNR, Navy Combat Documentation Detachment 206
At the time of the attack, CDR Hannes was serving in OPNAV N512 Warfare Policy and Doctrine Branch. On the morning of the attack, he was at work at the Pentagon.
Oral History Summary:
CDR Hannes served as the command representative for the family of CDR Patrick Dunn. CDR Dunn was serving in the Navy Command Center when the plane hit the Pentagon. As the OPNAV N3/N5 command rep, CDR Hannes worked closely with the CACO assigned to the family to ensure they received all of the support they needed following the death of CDR Dunn.
On the morning of the attack, CDR Hannes was in his office on the fourth deck of the D Ring between Corridors 3 and 4. He made it safely out of the Pentagon and then evacuated from the area when word of another plane began spreading. That evening, after making it home, he was asked to serve as one of the command representatives.
CDR Hannes had worked with CDR Dunn in a previous posting. Some people even got them confused, because they had similar facial features. In the early hours of 12 September, CDR Hannes and the CACO, CDR Martin, were the ones who officially informed the family that CDR Dunn was missing. More than a week later, they were also the ones who informed the family that CDR Dunn's remains had been identified. During that period, either CDR Hannes or CDR Martin were at the Dunn home with the family 24 hours a day. Over time, CDR Hannes began to view CDR Dunn's wife as a little sister.
CDR Dunn's wife was pregnant at the time of the attack and was due to give birth to their first child not long after the CDR Hannes gave his oral history. CDR Hannes talked at length about all he was doing to ensure that she was always getting the support she needed. He worked with local charities who fundraised for her and the baby. He did the same for the family of another Sailor who was killed in the attack.
Content Warnings: Sensitive Content
Oral History Abstract and Transcript: Hannes, Kevin CDR Pentagon Attack Oral History (PDF, 628kb)
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