Hendersonville Police Chief Myhand was one of first on scene at Pentagon on 9/11

Twenty-two years ago on Sept. 11, 2001, Hendersonville Police Chief Blair Myhand was 31 years old, working as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police Department.

Like all Americans, he said it’s a day he’d like to forget, but he can’t. He told the Times-News on Sept. 7 on that day in which terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and into the Pentagon, killing thousands of people, it was his first day of dive school for the Metropolitan Police Department.

Myhand hasn’t told his story to many people, he said.

Hendersonville Police Department Chief of Police Blair Myhand

“I’m not traumatized to the point where I don’t want to talk about it. I just don’t want to be seen as ‘Oh, here’s this hero guy.’ That’s just not my style,” he said.

But he did end up saving many lives as he helped many escape from the Pentagon. He was given the Army Commendation Medal for Heroism for his actions that day.

First on the scene

According to several reports, Myhand and his two other fellow officers were the first three to arrive on the scene. Myhand was with two other officers on a boat in the Potomac River when they heard the explosion and saw the smoke, he said.

“I was in police dive school. It was our first day we were going to dive into the river,” he said. “The Pentagon is just directly across the Potomac. It actually goes right up to the edge of the Pentagon.”

Myhand said like everyone else in the country, they had turned on the television when they heard about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center.

“We were actually watching the TV when the second plane hit. Like most people, we assumed that they attacked New York and that there was nothing else to it. So we were out on the dock getting ready to go into the river,” he said.

An American flag is draped over the walls of the Pentagon on Sept. 13, 2001, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Al-Qaida militants crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, killing 184 people.

That’s when they heard the explosion.

“We saw the smoke coming up. The direction of the plane came into the Pentagon was on the back side of it from where we were, so we didn’t see the plane come in. When we heard the explosion and knew it was the Pentagon, we connected the dots and we immediately jumped in the boat and drove to the other side,” he said.

‘It was surreal’

Over the next five to six hours, Myhand said he and his fellow officers were in and around the Pentagon, evacuating people from the massive burning building that was crumbling around them.

“We were getting people supplies and getting them away from the building. Around 2-3 p.m., we were brought back to D.C. and rejoined our unit and continued on with the stuff we did beyond that,” he said.

It was later reported that the aircraft flown by a hijacker into the Pentagon was American Airlines Flight 77. All 64 on board were killed, along with 125 in the Pentagon, according to the Associated Press.

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“It was surreal to see wreckage, burned buildings and bodies and all those sorts of things that were at the Pentagon,” Myhand said. “We were in and around the Pentagon, which I’m sure we weren’t allowed to be. But with the chaos of the day, a lot of the formalities went out the window because people were trying to help other people.”

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks killed a total of 2,996 people, including 2,750 in New York, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of the hijacked planes crashed after passengers attempted to retake the plane.

‘Not my favorite day’

Myhand and his fellow officers were a part of history 22 years ago on that fateful day. They had a bond then and still have a bond to this day, he said.

“Our instructor at that time was an older guy. I haven’t really communicated much with him, but my partner, who was on the SWAT team at the time with me, we stay in touch. His name is Mark. Mark and I stay in contact with each other. Usually on or around 9/11, we communicate with other, talking about what we were doing that day,” he said.

Hendersonville Police Chief Blair Myhand looks at his phone as he stands at the Hendersonville Police Department booth at the North Carolina Apple Festival on Sept. 1.

Prior to his law enforcement career, Myhand joined the U.S. Army in 1987, serving for both Virginia and North Carolina Army National Guards until retiring in 2011 as an Infantry First Sergeant. He served two combat tours, one each to Afghanistan and Iraq. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He was on active duty with the Third U.S. Infantry “The Old Guard” before joining the National Guard.

On Sept. 11, Henderson County will conduct a brief ceremony starting at 9 a.m. on the Historic Courthouse Square to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“It’s not my favorite day,” Myhand said. “I know a lot of people have PTSD over that event. I don’t need therapy over the whole deal. I just happened to be where I was at. Any other police officer I’m sure would’ve done the same thing I did.

When asked if he’d attend, Myhand replied, “I’ll be there for sure.”

Also, the city of Asheville will hold a 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 11 at the City Municipal Building, 100 Court Plaza.

Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Hendersonville Chief Myhand one of first on scene at Pentagon on 9/11