Active Remembrance Documentary Series

The Pentagon Response Series

Rare footage from inside the Pentagon emergency response, witnessed, recorded, and preserved by the only civilian camera crew on site.

Filmed Sept 11–13, 2001 · Embedded with the Arlington County Fire Department

On September 11, 2001, video producer Jude Coke and her two-person crew were granted exclusive access to the Pentagon as embedded documentarians for the Arlington County Fire Department. For three days, they were the only civilian camera crew allowed on site, outside and inside the building, capturing the emergency response as it unfolded in real time. Much of what they recorded has never been seen outside the emergency responder training community.

We remember so they never forget.

Browse Videos About the Series

Part Four: A Symbol of Resilience Part Four

The Footage

Each video in this series draws from raw footage recorded September 11–13, 2001, at the Pentagon. Released monthly, April through September 2026, these clips offer a firsthand look at the courage, coordination, and humanity of those who responded.

Part Five Coming Soon Part Five In production

Part Six Coming Soon Part Six In production

About the Series

On September 10, 2001, producer Jude Coke arrived on the East Coast for what was expected to be a routine video production assignment with cameraman Billy DeWeese and firefighter and emergency response content advisor Christopher DeWolf. Less than 24 hours later, their mission changed forever.

Shortly after the 9/11 Pentagon attack, the team made their way toward Washington, D.C., arriving as additional emergency personnel were mobilizing to support operations at the Pentagon. Their work documenting emergency response training, along with Firefighter DeWolf’s expertise, helped establish their credibility with Incident Command, leading to authorization to record the coordinated multi-agency response.

Their cameras documented the unfolding Pentagon response over three days, capturing incident commanders directing operations, urban search and rescue efforts, the debris field, the interior impact zone, and moments that revealed the human story within it.

For nearly twenty-five years, Jude Coke safeguarded the footage, recognizing its historical significance and feeling a responsibility to ensure the record would not be lost. Over time, her collection became the only known surviving complete archive of the footage. In 2024, she began the preservation effort to protect this rare visual record and make it accessible for future generations.

The 9/11 Legacy Foundation is honored to present this original six-part documentary series, produced in partnership with Jude Coke, marking the first public presentation of this extraordinary archive. The series shares the story behind the footage, the people who created it, and the moments it preserved as another meaningful chapter in the collective history of September 11.

About the Filmmaker

Jude Coke

Video Producer | Pentagon Documentarian, Sept 11–13, 2001

Jude Coke is a Dallas-based video producer whose career has been defined by a calling she heard long before she understood it: to create videos that make a difference. Raised on a farm in South Dakota, she studied mass communications and broadcast journalism at the University of South Dakota, building a career telling stories from behind the camera.

On September 11, 2001, newly hired to produce emergency responder training videos, she stepped into her first independently led assignment in that position when the course of that day and her life changed forever. Within hours of the attacks, she and her crew received rare access to document the Pentagon aftermath alongside the emergency responders who answered the call to serve. For three days, they captured a chapter of history with a sense of purpose and responsibility that has only deepened in the years since.

In addition to preserving the Pentagon footage, Jude began speaking annually at her local middle school with two women neighbors who share their personal experiences from the other 9/11 locations. Together, they represent all three sites and a shared message of resilience, service, and unity. She is committed to ensuring future generations recognize not only what happened on September 11, but what those events revealed about the human capacity for courage, leadership, service, unity, and resilience, as well as the responsibility that comes with choosing how we respond when facing extraordinary challenges.

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