‘I Thought She Was Dead’: Heroic Navy SEAL Reunites with 9/11 Survivor 25 Years Later

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One man, a now-retired Navy SEAL, who acted decisively and heroically during the deadly terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, by rescuing people from the Pentagon, shared his emotional journey and changed perspective after revisiting the tragic day 25 years ago.

That man, that hero, Cmdr. Craig Powell, whose story is highlighted in National Geographic's new three-part docuseries "9/11 Reunited," was working on the fifth floor of the Pentagon C Ring when American Airlines Flight 77 struck at 9:37 a.m. on 9/11, according to The Christian Post. 

At the time, he was newly assigned to the Pentagon six days before the attacks took place, the outlet reported.

Powell was among the military personnel who entered damaged sections to search for survivors, working alongside Navy Capt. David Thomas and Air Force Lt. Gen. Paul Carlton Jr, who also served as the Air Force Surgeon General at the time.

There was a point where Powell crawled into confined spaces to clear debris and help trapped survivors. During the rescue effort, he crossed paths with Lt. Col. Marilyn Wills, who had previously been attending a meeting on the second floor of the Pentagon when the plane struck.

He thought Wills died during the rescue effort, where she had also helped survivors, working to help them escape through a window before escaping herself.

"I thought she was dead on the day that that event happened," he said, recounting how he passed Wills to others who began administering CPR. Although Powell was unsure of her condition at the time or whether she would make it, she survived. 

Both Powell and Wills reunited for the upcoming “9/11 Reunited" docuseries as they both got to see how life turned out for them more than two decades later.

"She's got two great daughters, and now she's got grandbabies, so she gets to see her grandbabies," Powell said of Wills. "That's the part that I'm happy about."

He also shared that he was moved by how Wills has continued to serve in multiple ways since the day that brought the two together. She has been active in the educational field and has served at her church, and none of that includes all the love and time she has devoted to and invested in her family.

Meanwhile, Powell, who had given nearly 20 years of military service to the Navy before 9/11, shared that the deadly attacks on that day, which no one will ever forget, made him change his perspective, making him realize the value of family time.

"I was always deployed. I was always gone," he said, crediting his then-wife with the majority of the work of raising their children while he was away.

"I need to appreciate my family, and ever since then, I did," he continued. "And I actually made decisions specifically because of that, after that, for my family, as opposed to, you know, for me."

"9/11 Reunited" is set to premiere on Aug. 21, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET on National Geographic, and will then appear on Disney+ and Hulu the following day. The docuseries is produced by 72 Films in partnership with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Alex Wong/Staff

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.