29 Years - A Second Chance at Life

Under mounting pressure to bring about a swift end to the Vietnam war, President Nixon approves the controversial Operation Linebacker II campaign sending B-52s to bomb the heavily defended North Vietnamese capitol of Hanoi and Port of Haiphong.The day after Christmas, 1972, Bob's aircraft delivers its payload and is heavily damaged by two surface-to-air missiles over Hanoi. The cockpit crew knows that the tail gunner is injured, but they cannot communicate with him. To save the gunner, they vote to nurse their crippled bomber back to Thailand, only to crash while attempting to land. Ironically, the injured gunner bails out before the crash. Of the six-member crew, only the tail gunner and Hymel, who is pulled from the burning wreckage by Capt. Brent Diefenbach, survive.Diefenbach returns from the same mission landing only moments earlier. After witnessing the crash, he makes his way off base, covering more than a mile on foot. He is the first to reach the wreckage. Diefenbach miraculously pulls Bob from the downed bomber just seconds before it is fully engulfed in flames.After a painful and grueling 18 months of recuperation, Bob continues his career with the Air Force. He realizes he has a second chance at life and becomes the consummate family man, spending quality time with Pat and daughter Natalie, learning how to cook, and pursuing a passion for real estate. He retires from the Air Force after more than 23 years of service.Driven by the loss of his fellow Vietnam crew-mates, Bob joins the Defense Intelligence Agency as a civilian and is stationed in the Pentagon. With the years of military moves behind them and with Virginia now their permanent home, Pat, reaches her lifelong goal of becoming an elementary school principal. Her new school is located just minutes from Bob's Pentagon office.In 2001, the Pentagon is being renovated a section at a time. On September 11th, Bob is preparing to move from his temporary office to his new permanent office when Pat calls to tell him about the two planes that smashed into World Trade Center in New York. Minutes later a third plane roars past her school slamming into the Pentagon. For nine agonizing hours, Pat suppresses concern for her husband as she comforts her staff and 411 students. She ensures their protection by shepherding them to the school's basement lunchroom.His temporary office location allows Bob to survive the initial impact of the plane. Fellow employees see him attempting to rescue an office-mate. At some point, the floors above them collapse and, twenty-nine years after being rescued from certain death, Bob dies trying to save the life of another. The courage of Brent Diefenbach gave him a second chance at life. Bob's own courage, as a rescuer, ended his life. In Vietnam, Bob was seconds from death. On 9/11, he was a day away from life.People are overcome with emotion as first responders and well-wishers line the highway to greet Bob's funeral procession as it travels to Arlington National Cemetery. Bob's is the first of the Arlington funerals for those who perished in the Pentagon on 9/11. At Arlington, a B-52 conducts a fly over for only the second time in the cemetery's history. At Arlington, for the first time, Pat meets Brent Diefenbach - the person credited with giving Bob a second chance at life.