9-11 Caring Carolina

Strom Thurmond 

A Surprise Visit

            U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, 99, visited the damaged Pentagon on September 14, 2001, just three days after the hijacked airplane crashed into it.  He wanted to see the damage live and up close.  But, the main reason he went was to give the police, fire, Red Cross, and other such emergency rescuers a little boost.  Each rescuer was brought over to see Strom Thurmond.  He told them how proud he was and thanked them.

            Strom Thurmond is a highly decorated World War II Veteran.  Being a combat paratrooper of the 82^nd Airborne Division, he knew what it was like to see something like this firsthand and close up.  Navy Cmdr. Jim Frazer said, “This is something I think deeply affected him.”      

            Strom Thurmond also instructed that he didn’t want this visit publicized before nor after his visit.  Saying that, he turned down interviews from The Post and Courier of Charleston.  This was a personal visit to him.

            Strom Thurmond wanted to see the damaged Pentagon and its rescue workers, which he did.  That was the one main thing he wanted to do and it meant a whole lot to him.  This quiet, nonpublicized visit shows how truly moved Senator Strom Thurmond and the State of South Carolina have been since the events of September 11^th.  Most South Carolinians, like Senator Thurmond, have shown their support in a quiet, southern way.