The TWU Veterans Committee was already in the middle of an eventful tour of the Pentagon on July 10, learning about the inner workings of the country’s largest office building, when an unexpected guest appeared.
Retired Colonel Gregory D. Gadson, a double-amputee war hero and actor in the movie Battleship, appeared as he was signing copies of his latest book for workers in the Pentagon. He thanked the TWU veterans for their service and took the time to sign books and pose for photographs.
“The Pentagon tour was a moving experience, and we are grateful for the police officers who took the time to give us a look at such an impressive building, including the 9/11 crash site,” said TWU International Veterans Committee Chair Brian Galarza. “It was really memorable to speak with a hero like Colonel Gadson.”
Gadson lost both of his legs while returning from a memorial service in Baghdad in 2007. The former West Point football player became one of the first people to use new prosthetic knee technology and turned to acting, writing and motivational speaking engagements since retiring from active duty. In addition to being cast as a war veteran in the 2012 movie Battleship, Gadson made a guest appearance in an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles last year.
In addition to the unexpected encounter with Gadson, TWU Veterans Committee members toured the Pentagon’s “nerve center” where intelligence agents and law enforcement track potential threats to the Pentagon and Capital Region. A flashing red sign alerted workers in the Pentagon command center to the presence of the TWU members so they could hide any sensitive material from their computer screens during the visit.
Veterans Committee members also visited the impact zone of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. The point of impact is now a chapel and memorial to the 184 victims of the attack in the plane and in the building. The tour guides explained how the death toll could have been much higher had the plane crashed in another direction – the part of the Pentagon that was damaged was recently renovated with reinforced concrete and many workers had not returned to their offices at the time of the crash. The death toll could have been in the thousands if the plane had flown into another wing of the Pentagon that had yet to be reinforced and had thousands of people working in it, the tour guides said.
The TWU Veterans Committee members also discussed recent events in their local chapters such as organizing honor flights for deceased veterans and providing assistance for VA claims. The most recent meeting of the committee took place at the International headquarters in Washington, DC.
TWU International President John Samuelsen also spoke to the committee to discuss the importance of strategic fightback campaigns and what the TWU is doing to ensure industry-leading contracts for all of its members.
