Washington – September 16, 2026 -- Three survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, Pentagon attack returned to the Burn Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center 25 years after receiving lifesaving treatment there, marking a milestone for the facility that treated 10 critically injured patients following one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in U.S. history.
Burn Center treated 10 Pentagon patients with severe burns and inhalation injuries in 2001
As the Washington region's only adult Burn Center, the facility mobilized physicians, nurses, therapists and support staff to treat patients requiring multiple reconstructive surgeries, specialized wound care, respiratory support and long-term rehabilitation. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush visited patients and staff on Sept. 13, 2001, two days after the attack.
Survivors sustained burns to 22%-60% of their bodies, requiring weeks to months of hospitalization
HON Brian Birdwell, now Assistant Secretary of War for Sustainment at the Pentagon and a retired Army lieutenant colonel, suffered burns over more than 60% of his body and underwent dozens of surgeries. Maj. David King, sole survivor from his office in the Army's G-8 division, sustained burns to 22% of his body and spent roughly five weeks in the hospital before returning to military service in January 2002 and retiring in 2008. John Yates, a Pentagon security manager and sole survivor from his office, sustained burns to 38% of his body, spent over two months hospitalized, returned to work in January 2002 and retired in 2016.
Center director says Pentagon response reshaped burn disaster preparedness protocols nationwide
Jeffrey Shupp, MD, director of the Burn Center, said lessons from treating Pentagon survivors helped shape burn disaster preparedness, emergency response planning and multidisciplinary burn care in subsequent years. He credited advances since 2001 in critical care, wound management, infection prevention, skin grafting, reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation with improving outcomes for severe burn patients. Shupp, a graduate student at the University of Maryland at the time of the attack, later trained under the late Marion Jordan, MD, the Burn Center's former director whose leadership during the crisis earned the hospital's burn and trauma teams international recognition.
Renovated ICU, step-down unit and rehabilitation gym hosted survivors' return visit
The three survivors toured the Burn Center's newly renovated intensive care unit, step-down unit and rehabilitation gym, reuniting with caregivers who treated them in 2001. The Burn Center continues operating as a regional, national and international referral point for complex burn trauma, providing treatment spanning emergency care, reconstruction and social reintegration.