'So Much Death' Took A Toll on Heroic Rescuer

Minutes after Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Chris Braman rescued three people from the dangerous sea of rubble, fire and debris and helped four others to safety. High on adrenaline, he spent the next three days carrying 63 bodies from the smoking building.

Days later, he discovered the toll it had taken on his body. Braman had radiant heat burns: "It was the fire kissing me," he said. Ingesting a toxic mix of smoke, jet fuel and asbestos left him with lung damage, asthma, acid reflux and other ailments.

Braman also had post-traumatic stress disorder.

"When I looked over in my dark bedroom, I kept seeing the burning Pentagon," he recalled. "I saw everything."

At first, Braman refused help from charities. He had been working as a procurement officer who shopped for groceries for an Army general's private kitchen, but he was schooled in combat.

"Being a trained soldier, you don't ever ask for help, even if you need it," he said. "You just learn to suck it up and work through the issues, regardless."

But the Survivors' Fund representatives were persistent.

"They didn't come out and say, 'Here's the money,' " Braman said. "They'd say, 'Hey, how are the kids doing?' 'Are you ready to talk yet?' They made things available, such as counseling and financial advising . . . versus having a big check, having a big Christmas."

Now 39, Braman lives with his wife and three daughters in Alexandria. He takes 15 medications a day and still goes to physical therapy. With help from the Survivors' Fund, his wife went back to school and now works as a nurse at Inova Fairfax Hospital.

Braman was awarded the Purple Heart and Soldier's Medal for heroism, and he tours the country speaking about his Sept. 11 experience.

"I was mentally, spiritually and physically humbled that day," Braman said. "I had so much death in my hands that it changed me."

-- Philip Rucker