9/11: The Marine Helicopter Missions Few Remember

On September 11, 2001, as smoke rose from the Pentagon, U.S. Marine Corps Major Daniel P. Creighton and the Marines of HMX-1 were called into action.

Twenty-five years later, Creighton, now a retired lieutenant colonel, shares his firsthand account of flying a CH-53E Super Stallion into the Washington airspace with Emily Abdow, host of the Naval History podcast. He also reflects on HMX-1’s extraordinary response that day, including the Marine One mission that returned President George W. Bush safely to the White House.

In this special 25th-anniversary conversation, the U.S. Naval Institute remembers those lost on 9/11 and preserves the stories of the Marines who answered the call during one of the darkest days in American history.