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in Manassas, Virginia, on his day off testing out a local golf course for an upcoming Residence staff outing. His wife notified him about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center tower. He was able to reach Gary Walters, who told him not to come to the White House. White went home and set up a telephone network after Walters said he did not know where many of the staff had evacuated to. Because White lived in Virginia, it was easier for him to make calls than it was for those in Washington. He gathered people’s contact information through Residence staff and called families to let them know loved ones were okay and who they were with. “It just felt like I could do something. I wanted to do something,” White said. “Don’t know what, but you want to do something.” Emotions ran high on September 11, and staff described feelings of vulnerability and fear, and also appreciation, as they reflected the next day and the following weeks. Many people spoke of confusion and rumors: were there car bombs at the State Department? The explosive sounds were later explained as sonic booms from fighter jets
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Joel Jensen, purchasing agent of the storeroom, was out on the road with a driver earlier than usual, making a number of last-minute food pickups for the Congressional Picnic. He heard about the World Trade Center towers while at a distributer and saw smoke from the Pentagon as he traveled from Maryland toward the District. He desperately tried calling his co-workers and the Usher’s Office, but everyone had evacuated. He eventually reached Assistant Chief Usher Dennis Freemyer, who instructed him to return all perishable foods to the vendors and avoid driving into Washington. Jensen said, “To me it was so frustrating, not knowing what’s going on. We’d probably spent at least half an hour by the edge of the road, just sitting there pulled off because I didn’t know what to do, what was going on. Even though I was not down here, the trauma to me was just bizarre. Every office—I mean, I’m calling the engineers, I’m calling electricians. I couldn’t believe nobody answered the phone. I had no idea what was going on. It’s sort of like I was in a black hole.” Administrative Usher Worthington White was
Purchasing agent Joel Jensen, seen here in the White House storeroom, was on the road picking up food needed for the Congressional Picnic on the morning of September 11, 2001. Instructed to return the perishables after the attacks canceled the picnic, he was unable to contact his colleagues. “We’d probably spent at least half an hour by the edge of the road, just sitting there pulled off because I didn’t know what to do, what was going on. . . . I had no idea what was going on. It’s sort of like I was in a black hole.”