After a truck bomb exploded outside the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad in 2003, 1st Sgt. William Von Zehle Jr. responded, saving a top UN official. He would later re-enact the event on camera for a documentary.
Von Zehle, first sergeant of Alpha Company, 411th Civil Affairs Battalion at the time, was standing in his office facing the window 100 meters away when the truck bomb exploded.
"I saw an incredibly bright orange flash, followed a fraction of a second later by the glass blowing in," Von Zehle said. "I was blown across the room and hit the opposite wall."
Following procedure, Von Zehle assembled with other building staff on the roof.
"I saw the fire and collapsed portion of the UN Headquarters," Von Zehle said. "I immediately realized what had happened."
As a fire chief, Emergency Medical Technician, and trained anti-terrorism specialist, Von Zehle and hospital administrator Maj. Caroline Pogge (then captain) ran to the site of the explosion.
"Needless to say, when we arrived less than five minutes after the blast, the scene was chaotic, with dead and dying all over," Von Zehle said. "Part of the three-story building collapsed and was still on fire. The Spinal Hospital next door was heavily damaged and there were numerous burning vehicles in the driveway."
After scanning the area for possible secondary explosives or snipers, Von Zehle took command of the incident and began to radio information up his chain of command while Pogge did a recon around the building to determine injuries and picked a triage site. They were the first responders.
"I was approached by a UN staff member [Australian Lt. Col. Jeff Davie] who stated that several people were reportedly trapped in the rubble," Von Zehle said. "Turning command over to Pogge, I followed the man upstairs via a still-standing portion of the building. We were eventually able to make our way along a third floor corridor until I could see a small opening that I was able to crawl through. The unstable building was still moving as I carefully climbed down. There were six people."
The six people had been in a meeting hosted by Sergio de Mello, the target of the truck-bomb, according to the U.S. military, when the bomb had exploded directly below the office. Sergio de Mello, UN Special Representative to the Secretary-General, is believed to have been al Qaida's target because of his work in liberating East Timor from Indonesia in 2001.
"I checked each person as I reached them in the narrow space between slabs of concrete that had been the floors of the building that pancaked downward," Von Zehle said. "Three were dead, one was barely alive and at the very bottom of the shaft, were two men pinned under rubble from the waist down."
"One was Gil Loescher and the other was Sergio de Mello. I had no tools and neither my radio nor my cell phone would work. I was able to move some debris to make an opening at the bottom of the shaft maybe six by twelve inches and I yelled out that I was inside with two wounded and gave Jeff Davie a list of equipment that was needed. I then began to try removing the rubble covering the men. It was over 120 degrees the day of the attack and even hotter inside the void since the building was on fire. The building would move and debris would rain down on me and the victims, undoing much of my efforts," Von Zehle added.
About an hour later, Staff Sgt. Andre Valentine of the 812th MP Company crawled down to assist Von Zehle. Together, for more than three hours, they worked. Loescher was freed after an emergency amputation of his legs without anesthesia. De Mello died of injuries before they could finish freeing him.
As the explosion gained international media notice, so did Von Zehle's actions. A whirlwind of attention surrounded him from phone calls with the Joint Chief of Staff to the president commending his efforts.
De Mello's biography, which detailed the explosion and rescue efforts, was later selected by award-winning documentary film producer/director Greg Barker for adaptation to an HBO documentary. In 2007, the production company called Von Zehle, asking him if he would like to participate.
"Permission from the Army was granted and I had my initial interview in Autumn, 2007," Von Zehle said. "Taping was done in New York, Atlanta and in Hollywood on a sound stage recreating the collapsed portion of the UN Headquarters. Both Valentine and I were flown out to Hollywood during November, 2008, and we both felt very strong emotions. The production company had done a good job of recreating the look of the actual void. Even though it was a recreation, we both felt something of what we'd felt the day of the attack. It was more strenuous than the first time. In Hollywood, we spent three twelve hour days doing the various scenes, with multiple takes for many of them. In order to make it realistic, the void was heated, smoke machines were used and they would drop bricks down the shaft. I returned home bruised and with several cuts as a result."
Von Zehle is planning to attend the screening in Chicago April 28th and HBO headquarters in New York has expressed their desire to have Von Zehle appear on a few talk shows. The television premiere is scheduled for May 3.
"The rescue efforts were truly a team effort, initially by the soldiers of the A/411th based in the UN complex, and later by a large contingent of military personnel from all the services performing heroically under difficult and dangerous conditions to save as many victims as humanly possible," Von Zehle said. "In addition, UN staffers and Iraqi emergency service personnel were also on scene, working side-by-side with US forces throughout the afternoon, the night, and well into the following day until the last victims were removed from the rubble. Although it was a horrible day, it also brought out the finest qualities of America's service members. It was probably the A/411th's finest hour and I'm proud to consider everyone there a true American hero."