Miller, Kevin CDR
9/11 Pentagon Attack Oral History
"When I think of 9/11, I think of New York, even though I was here in [the Pentagon]. It's just that...you get bombarded with these images of the towers...I mean you can't get away from them."
Date of Interview: 8 March 2002
Interviewers: CAPT Gary Hall & CAPT Michael McDaniel, USNR, Navy Combat Documentation Detachment 206
At the time of the attack, CDR Miller was serving as an action officer in OPNAV N512 Warfare Policy and Doctrine. On the morning of the attack, he was at work at the Pentagon.
Oral History Summary:
CDR Miller served as the N3/N5 command representative to the family of CAPT Bob Dolan. CAPT Dolan had been serving in the OPNAV N513 office in the Navy Command Center when the plane hit the Pentagon. As the N3/N5 command rep, CDR Miller worked closely with the assigned CACO to support CAPT Dolan's family and ensure they had all of their needs met.
On the morning of the attack, CDR Miller 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. The OPNAV N3/N5 DCNO, VADM Keating, wanted every N3/N5 family that lost someone to have a representative from the N3/N5 command in addition to the CACO. CDR Miller knew CAPT Dolan, so he became the command representative for the Dolan family.
CDR Miller and the CACO notified the family on the afternoon of 12 September. The first notification was to inform the family that CAPT Dolan's status was missing. The family gathered included CAPT Dolan's brother-in-law, the assistant OPS officer at the United States Naval Academy. In order to ease the burden on CAPT Dolan's wife, CDR Miller and CACO would work mostly through her brother.
CDR Miller spent a significant amount of time with the Dolan family over the next several weeks. He was there to notify them that CAPT Dolan's remains had been identified. He also was involved in the planning for the memorial and funeral services.
Beyond detailing his experiences on the day of the attack and his work as the N3/N5 representative for the Dolan family, CDR Miller also talked about the work he was doing for his job during the period he was serving as the rep. He also talked about his own family and their lives after the attacks.
Content Warnings: Sensitive Content
Oral History Abstract and Transcript: Miller, Kevin CDR Pentagon Attack Oral History (PDF, 470kb)
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