Pentagon survivor: World's better without bin Laden

On Sept. 11, 2001, Ryan Yantis was working at the Pentagon as a public relations officer for the Army. Terrorist hijackers had already crashed two commercial jets into the World Trade Center and Yantis was on his way to a meeting to discuss how the Army would assist New York City with its rescue efforts.

At 9:30 a.m., Yantis was standing with a co-worker between corridors four and five on the outer ring of the Pentagon and they started arguing about the meeting's location — the building has 17 miles of hallways, 2 million square feet of office space and lousy signage.

Yantis made a call and found out the meeting was a few minutes away from where they'd been standing.

“By the time we walked to where the meeting was, the sergeant told us to evacuate because there had been an explosion near the helipad outside corridors four and five,” said Yantis, now 50, who lives near Crystal Lake. “Where we had been standing arguing was where the plane hit after a few minutes later.”

The Pentagon attack killed 189 people, including 125 people in the building and the 64 passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 77.

After evacuating the building and determining he wasn't hurt, Yantis returned and with 100 others spent hours assisting in the removal of dead or injured co-workers, getting medical supplies to them and loading them on gurneys.

The father of three daughters also ensured a pair of pregnant women left the grounds before another attack.

“There was nobody telling us how and what to do,” Yantis said. “It was good, concerned people helping each other.”

Yantis retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Army in 2006 after 22 years.

He admits he still has nightmares about the day of the attack, but now that Osama bin Laden is dead he looks forward to sleeping a bit easier.

“You always hope so,” he said. “The dreams come when they want to come.”

Yantis was honored for his actions that day and received the Army Commendation Medal. Today, he runs a media consulting firm out of his home.

After President Obama's Sunday night announcement that American forces had killed bin Laden, Yantis didn't rejoice. But he's happy the “evil” mastermind behind the attacks has finally met his end.

“The world is a better place without Osama bin Laden,” he said.

Time will tell, though, whether his death promotes a greater understanding between the United States and Arab countries, Yantis said.

“He's gone, but a lot of what his legacy is, is still there,” he said. “The important thing is to dilute his legacy.”