02 Sep 2021 As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, Pentagon survivor encourages patriotism

Posted at 6:34 PMh in Features by

By Donna Lampkin Stephens

Twenty years after surviving the attack on the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, John Hoffman has a message for America: 

“We need to remember how patriotic we were the day of, the day after, the few years later, until it was forgotten,” said Hoffman, 45, of Conway. “Remember how you saw red, white and blue everywhere. Remember when everybody was the most patriotic you’ve seen since World War II. 

“I want everyone to remember how we were then, and how we were as a country, and not to be so divided. I want us to come back together as one nation.” 

Hoffman grew up in Lawrence County and graduated from Black Rock High School in 1995. Before that, though, he attended Army boot camp in the summer of 1994. A few months after graduation, he went on active duty. After stateside stints at Fort Meade, Md., and Fort Gordon, Ga., he embarked on a three–year tour in Germany as a Multimedia Specialist that included many deployments all over Europe and back. 

Permanent outdoor memorial to people killed at the Pentagon  and in Flight 77 in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Just 25, he returned to the U.S. in the summer of 2001. After a few weeks off in Arkansas, he began his next assignment at the Pentagon and was assigned to the Graphics Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Intelligence G–2. Hoffman was a multimedia illustrator, designer, photographer, audio–visual specialist and videographer. The office was in the process of being moved from Crystal City, Va., back to the Pentagon.

His first day at the Pentagon was Sept. 11. 

When a plane hit the building, he was about 100 feet from the point of impact. 

He survived, but was forever affected. 

“It turned me into a disabled vet with PTSD,” he said of the effect of the experience on his life. “It makes you appreciate a lot more. You learn to enjoy things. It taught me to enjoy children and family and to have a good work ethic so my kids can witness it and replicate the same good ethics and love of family. 

“I wouldn’t have any of those things if I hadn’t made it out.” 

He remembers the outpouring of support for victims in the days following the attack. 

“Who can say they’ve gotten a massage from a professional masseuse in the parking lot of the Pentagon?” he said. “We were flooded with people bringing food, pop–up places for naps, massages. There was so much patriotism you couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the support and outpouring of feelings of love and support for us in the military.  Then it was all forgotten over 20 years. 

He had already been raising three stepdaughters and moving his family back and forth across two continents. 

“I got to the Pentagon at a very young age,” he said. “You don’t go there for no reason. Minus the whole first part, it was a great experience. All the rest of (the Pentagon assignment) was interesting.” 

He continued to work there until his service ended in 2004. After leaving active duty, he joined the Washington, D.C., National Guard the same year. In 2005 he took a job as a Visual Information Specialist with the U.S.  Army Corps of Engineers at their Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He spent 10 years there before a similar position opened in Little Rock, and he moved his second wife and youngest three children back to his home state after spending 19 years on the East Coast. 

His stepdaughters — Rochelle, Blair and Shadow — lived through his 9/11 experience. His firstborn, Gabriella, 18, has also lived with the knowledge of what her father went through. His youngest three — Emma, 15, a sophomore at Conway High; John Jr., 11, a sixth–grader; and Eva Sofia, 7, a first–grader — only know from the few photographs he has and his PTSD, he said. 

Nearing the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the American withdrawal from Afghanistan has weighed heavily on him.  

For the first 12 anniversaries of the 9/11 attack, he rode his motorcycle to the Pentagon for the memorial ceremony. Since moving his family to Arkansas, though, he hasn’t been back. But he plans to return this year for the 20th anniversary commemoration, flying in after his son’s birthday. Junior was born on Sept. 8th 2010 narrowly missing the solemn date.

Donna Stephens
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