Coping skills

Mill Creek man helps victims from Pentagon attack handle aftermath

By Scott North

Herald Writer

MILL CREEK — His battlefield was the Pentagon, where men and women wrestled with the carnage left by terrorism.

His weapons were smiles and kind words and Beanie Babies, stuffed animals resembling puppies and puffins.

It wasn’t long after terrorists crashed a hijacked jetliner into the Pentagon on Sept. 11 that Chuck Wright of Mill Creek scrambled to Washington, D.C., as part of the American Red Cross national disaster team.

A licensed counselor and family therapist, Wright, 57, joined a group of mental health professionals sent to help with the emotional aftermath.

For more than three weeks starting on Sept. 21, Wright talked with attack survivors, military officials, federal agents, police, firefighters and others struggling to come to grips with the gruesome aftermath of the fiery crash, which claimed 188 lives. The air was heavy with the odor of seared flesh.

"The smell. If anything, you remember the smell," Wright said early this week.

A retired state Corrections Department supervisor and president of the board for Everett-based Families and Friends of Violent Crime Victims, Wright is familiar with violence and fire.

When he arrived at the Pentagon, the flames were out and specially trained dogs sniffed for the remains of cadavers. Searchers gathered up the small pieces of flesh from bodies sundered by the explosion. Sometimes the only items found were jewelry, or in one case a bronze medal, speckled with droplets of its owner’s blood.

There was reluctance among many at the scene to discuss the tragedy.

That’s where Beanie Babies helped, Wright said. The small, stuffed animals broke the silence, broke the ice.

It didn’t matter if the person was an FBI agent or a three-star general, Wright said. When he saw someone hurting, he’d hand them a stuffed animal.

"I’d say, ‘You know, you look like you need a puffin,’ " he recalled.

Often, that would lead to deeper discussions. He’d give somebody a stuffed dog. They’d mention their real pooch at home. Talk would shift to the cadaver dogs sniffing through the rubble.

"And then they’d mention the smell," he said.

One woman whose forehead was scorched by fire told how her co-workers on either side of her desk had been terribly burned. She spoke of a dark shape hurtling over her desk during the blast, and realized later that it was somebody she knew. Then there was the soldier who was tortured by his decision to leave the Pentagon instead of rushing to save others.

Wright said he tried to help people understand that their thoughts were natural and part of the healing after a traumatic event.

He did not mention "closure."

"There is never, ever closure for these people," Wright said. "Death of a loved one means there is always that void."

That is a lesson Wright learned as a member of the Sno-King Arson Response Team, the task force that in February 1993 captured Paul Kenneth Keller, one of the nation’s worst serial arsonists. The investigation lasted six months and brought task force members to more than 100 burning homes, churches and businesses in four counties. Three people died.

Wright was assigned to help fire victims deal with their grief. In time, many of the task force members — firefighters, detectives and federal agents — turned to him for help in putting the ugly experience behind them.

Wright’s Pentagon service took him away from Mill Creek during the middle of a campaign for a seat on the city council. He’s trying to make up for lost time.

Mary Kay Voss, Wright’s opponent in the council race, praised his service but said she is the best candidate because of her business and organizational skills.

"I give him a lot of credit for being involved with the Red Cross and taking three weeks out of his life and doing something very difficult," Voss said.

Wright said that he knew the Pentagon duty would have an impact, and that’s happened, including nightmares of people dying in plane crashes. But confronting carnage also has highlighted how good life can be.

It hit him as the plane that carried him home circled over Puget Sound, Wright said.

"I said, ‘Look down, Chuck. There are a lot of people smiling. A lot of people happy.’ "

You can call Herald Writer Scott North at 425-339-3431 or send e-mail to north@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Alina Langbehn, 6, center, and Vera A., 6, right, sit on a swing together at Drew Nielsen Neighborhood Park after school on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council votes to renovate Drew Nielsen Park

Construction on the $345,000 upgrade could start as early as this fall.

Northshore School District bus driver Stewart O’Leary pictured next to his buses shattered drivers side windshield on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Put me in, coach’: Bus driver back at work after struck by metal bar

Stewart O’Leary, a Northshore employee, has received national attention for his composure during a frightening bus trip.

Lynnwood councilor Joshua Binda speaks during a Lynnwood City Council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Does the Lynnwood Council VP live in Lynnwood? It’s hard to say.

Josh Binda’s residency has been called into question following an eviction and FEC filings listing an Everett address. He insists he lives in Lynnwood.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

An American Robin picks a berry from a holly tree on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Calling all birders for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count

The Audubon Society will hold its 28th annual Great Backyard… Continue reading

A view of one of the potential locations of the new Aquasox stadium on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. The site sits between Hewitt Avenue, Broadway, Pacific Avenue and the railroad. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Initial prep work for AquaSox stadium to start, with $200k price tag

The temporary agreement allows some surveying and design work as the city negotiates contracts with designers and builders.

Aaron Kennedy / The Herald
The Joann Fabric and Crafts store at 7601 Evergreen Way, Everett, is one of three stores in Snohomish County that will close as part of the retailer’s larger plan to shutter more than half of its stores nationwide.
Joann store closure plan includes Everett, Arlington, Lynnwood locations

The retail giant filed a motion in court to close approximately 500 stores in the U.S.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.