PARADE: DID YOU EVER GET A DIRECT ORDER TO BRING DOWN THE PLANE?
"Our duty was clear--to protect and defend. I don't remember being told, 'Go take down that airliner.' All I remember is knowing for sure that's what we had to do. It wasn't until later in the day that we received 'free-fire' orders, meaning we could fire upon [anything] that we considered a threat."
PARADE: OF COURSE, AS IT TURNED OUT, YOU NEVER INTERCEPTED THE PLANE.
"We couldn't find the plane, so we went back to D.C. to make sure it hadn't snuck around us. Then we helped set up a protective cover over D.C.. We were airborne for about four and a half hours, landed, and took off again in aircraft configured with missiles.
"It was a long time before we learned that the passengers had taken control of the aircraft from the terrorists."
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