As one story is told , another unfolds
“ I have a 3 ' x 5 ' nylon American flag that I pulled from the Pentagon ,” says Veteran Dave Glover , U . S . Army , who favored AHERO Magazine with his Pentagon 9 / 11 recounting – but only after something of an interior battle with himself . He had tried for years to bury those moments .
“ I recovered that flag from a partially collapsed room where it was displayed behind a metal door ,” he explains . “ The fire had heated the door sufficiently to scorch the mid
lower portion of the flag . When I opened the door looking for survivors , I noticed the flag and paused , seeing how it was melted to the door .” He carefully pulled the small flag free , stuffing it into one of his cargo pockets . Then continued on his grisly mission .
“ I spent my 21st birthday hauling jet plane wreckage and debris … and recovering dismembered bodies ,” he says . Then he reflects : “ While most kids were enjoying their first legal beers , I was crawling , dehydrated and barely able to breathe , through toxic chemicals . Thinking , ‘ I found a foot on my birthday . Happy Birthday to me .’”
As all recovery teams members do , SGT Glover respectfully delivered the remains to a designated team . But he kept the flag that a fellow American hero had proudly displayed in his or her office . He keeps it still , as a sacred reminder .
IN MEMORIAM
The volunteers and leadership of AHERO were enormously saddened to hear that SGT Elliot (“ EJ ”) James , U . S . Army ( Ret ) passed away this summer due to complications from a chronic , life-threatening condition . EJ , whose childhood had abruptly ended at age 14 when his closest friend took the life of another , later served his country honorably and with great pride . During his tour in Iraq , where he manned a machine gun on convoys and performed checkpoint security , he was seriously injured in an accident that cost him a leg .
EJ was a talented writer and , at the time of his death , had been working to complete his memoir entitled “ Cicadas .” At AHERO Magazine , we were extremely proud to feature , as Part One , the opening pages of his book in our Winter 2021-22 issue . Speaking for all of us at AHERO , I know that our hearts and prayers go out to EJ ’ s family members and to the many among us who knew and loved him .
Dave Glassman
AHERO MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021 13