Contact: Jenni Brockman
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SMS Remembers September 11


Tappahannock (September 16, 2002) - A survivor of the attack on the Pentagon was the featured speaker at a special chapel service at St. Margaret's School on September 11. Lt. Col. Phillip J. Ridderhof, United States Marine Corps, told students, faculty and staff that although he was just 200 yards from where the jet crashed into the building, his recollections are not those of danger.

Lt. Col. Ridderhof, USMC Arrow  Photo left: Lt. Col. Phillip J. Ridderhof, United States Marine Corps, shared his thoughts about the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon with students at St. Margaret's School. Ridderhof was 200 yards from where the jet struck our nation's military headquarters.

"Remembering must leave us with hope," he said. "The horrific events of September 11 were followed by hundreds of thousands of acts of human compassion and giving." Ridderhof, a resident of Fredericksburg, is the father of Lorna, a junior in her third year at SMS. He explained that because he has trained and prepared for terrorist attacks throughout his 16-year career, his first reaction was to follow his training by securing his work area. Among the critical belongings he gathered was a lunch packed by his wife, Amy.

"Afterwards, I was surprised to find out that she was not happy that I valued the lunch she made for me so much that I paused long enough to take it along…. She would have preferred my immediate exit," he quipped.

Ridderhof said he expected terrorist activity in other places where he has worked, such as Bahrain and the Philippines. Over the last year, he has not had much time to consider the attacks on the Pentagon or the World Trade Center--his job has been to analyze the war that the attacks started. He told students that although he can tell them a lot about al Qaida, how terrorists operate, and how the US is fighting terrorism, telling them what September 11 means is a harder task that ultimately points toward the future.

"Just as there is evil in our world, there is good," he said. "Good fights evil by creating open, compassionate societies like ours that lessen the chance of evil occurring. I challenge each of you here today to continue in this effort, to look around you in your community here at St. Margaret's, and continue this momentum of goodness."