Before 9:29 a.m. September 11, 2001: Executive Assistant Calls Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Myers and Says NORAD Wants to Talk to Him

Colonel Matthew Klimow, executive assistant to General Richard Myers, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, calls Myers to let him know that NORAD wants to talk to him. Klimow is at the Pentagon and has seen the news of the crashes at the World Trade Center on television. Myers, meanwhile, is on Capitol Hill, where he has been meeting with Senator Max Cleland (D-GA). He is aware of the two crashes at the WTC and realizes that they were terrorist attacks (see Shortly Before 9:00 a.m. September 11, 2001 and (After 9:03 a.m.) September 11, 2001). Eberhart has just called Klimow on a secure line and said he urgently wanted to speak to Myers (see (Before 9:29 a.m.) September 11, 2001).
Executive Assistant Calls Myers’s Military Aide – After hanging up the secure phone, Klimow sets about contacting the vice chairman. He picks up the unsecured phone on his desk and calls the cell phone of Captain Chris Donahue, Myers’s military aide, who is with Myers on Capitol Hill. When Donahue answers, Klimow says, “Chris, get the old man on the phone.” Myers is apparently still meeting with Cleland, since Donahue hesitates and then asks, “Do you really want me to interrupt the senator?” But Klimow exclaims, “It’s urgent!” and orders, “Get in there!”
Myers Is Advised to Return to the Pentagon – Donahue therefore goes and finds Myers. When the vice chairman comes on the line, Klimow asks him if he knows about what happened in New York. Myers says Cleland’s staff has just briefed him on this. Klimow says in a calm and precise voice, “It looks like there’s a major hijacking underway and I recommend that you return to the Pentagon as soon as possible,” Myers will later recall. Myers will also recall that Klimow tells him the White House Situation Room called at 9:16 a.m. and confirmed that American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles hit the North Tower of the WTC. Klimow will recall telling Myers: “NORAD needs to talk. It sounds pretty bad.” He then asks the vice chairman, “Can you get back to the Pentagon?” According to Klimow, Myers replies: “I’ll call NORAD from my sedan. I’ll be there in 15 minutes.” “We’re on our way back to the Pentagon now,” Myers will recall saying. Myers ends the call and Klimow then starts making preparations for his arrival back at the Pentagon.
Myers Talks to the NORAD Commander – The time when this call takes place is unclear. However, it apparently takes place sometime before 9:29 a.m., since Klimow will recall that after he makes it, he receives a call inviting him to join the “significant event conference.” [Myers and McConnell, 2009, pp. 7-9; George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, 8/3/2012] This conference call will be convened by the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon at 9:29 a.m. (see 9:29 a.m.-9:34 a.m. September 11, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 37] Myers talks over the phone with Eberhart, who updates him on what is happening and the actions NORAD is taking in response to the attacks (see (Before 9:30 a.m.) September 11, 2001). However, while Klimow’s account will imply that the call between Myers and Eberhart takes place after Klimow’s conversation with the vice chairman, in his 2009 memoir, Myers will describe it taking place before he receives the call from Klimow. [9/11 Commission, 2/17/2004 ; Myers and McConnell, 2009, pp. 9; George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, 8/3/2012]