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9/11 Pentagon Survivor Dedicated 40 Years to Government Service

By Kevin M. Hymel on 10/17/2025

On Sept. 11, 2001, Lois Stevens was attending a meeting on the second floor of the Pentagon’s outer ring when the lights went out and the room buckled. Although she did not realize it at the time, the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 had just crashed into the building a short distance from her conference room. But Stevens made it to safety with the help of her colleague, Army Lt. Col. Marylin Wills and other survivors. 

During Stevens’ funeral service at Arlington National Cemetery on Oct. 6, 2025, her son and daughter, Dave Stevens and Paula Emma, described what they knew about their mother’s experience on 9/11. Dave said he could not think about the attack on the Pentagon without remembering Lt. Col. Wills, who determined the safest way out of the room and led the way as Stevens and other survivors formed a human chain behind her. According to Dave, “When my mom stopped crawling through the smoke and flames because her pantyhose was melting to her legs, Wills told her they could not stay where they were,” and even offered to carry Stevens on her back. By holding on to Wills’ belt, Stevens crawled with the others until they saw the light of a service corridor window.  

After several attempts to break the shatterproof glass, the group managed to remove the window from its frame. Stevens climbed through the opening and dropped about 15 feet to safety. Paula noted that her mother broke her foot in the fall, injured her shoulder and sustained a head injury during the escape.  

Despite her injuries, Stevens returned to work just weeks later. Paula worried that she was going back too soon, recalling that her mother told her, “I need to be with my colleagues.” In the months that followed, Stevens attended memorial services for those killed in the attack. “She knew these friends, she knew their families and she watched them mourn,” Paula said. “It just really took such a toll on her.” 

At the time of the 9/11 attacks, Stevens was working as a civil servant for the U.S. Army’s Office of Personnel Management. Upon retiring, she had completed 40 years of government service. Stevens was laid to rest in Section 55 of Arlington National Cemetery with her husband, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jack Stevens, who passed away in 2014.  

During Stevens’ funeral service, Navy Chaplain (Lt. Cmdr.) Doyl McMurry told her family and friends that although she never wore a uniform, she served her country with distinction. “She devoted her life to serving everyone around her and to loving and caring for her family,” McMurry said. “She took pride in her professional service and in supporting her sailor [husband] but gained even more joy from her relationship with each of you and all those you represent.” 

After the service, Dave honored his mother by carefully placing her urn in front of his father’s headstone. He spoke fondly about his mother’s life and her love of family—especially her grandchildren, for whom she always kept a stash of gummy bears in her purse. “We miss her terribly,” he concluded, “but I know she would be so happy to be here.” He then placed the tri-folded flag that had once been draped over his father’s casket in front of his mother’s urn. 

The funeral service impressed both Dave and Paula. “I just love the pageantry, the history, the tradition and the sense of service of all the people laid to rest here,” Dave said. Paula, in turn, found Chaplain McMurray’s words “so moving.” After the service, both siblings reflected on their mother’s strength and resourcefulness during their father’s service. Paula recalled how, in December 1973, the family was living in an Iranian hotel as they awaited a housing assignment, and her mother improvised a Christmas tree by draping a poncho over a lamp. “That was my mom,” Paula said. “She could make any hotel feel like a home.” 

Paula and Dave felt honored that their parents would rest together at Arlington National Cemetery, so close to the Pentagon. “They were both so patriotic,” Paula said. “They loved the U.S. military and they loved this country.”