At the time of the Pentagon attack , Birdwell was a military aide to the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management . When American Airlines Flight 77 crashed near his office , Birdwell was thrown from his second floor office to ground level . He sustained serious burns , many to the third degree , over 60 percent of his body . He was rescued by Rob Maness , then a United States Air Force officer who subsequently ran unsuccessfully in 2014 for the United States Senate from Louisiana , a position won instead by another Republican , Bill Cassidy . Maness did not know that it was Birdwell whom he had rescued until 2016 , when the two met again while Maness was raising funds for a second U.S. Senate race in 2016 at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland , Ohio . On his second day in the hospital , Birdwell received a surprise visit from his commander-in-chief , George W. Bush , who stood patiently in salute as Birdwell could barely raise and lower his wounded arm . Birdwell underwent thirty-nine operations , long hospitalizations , and numerous skin grafts . He credits his physical and spiritual healing to grace through Jesus Christ . For his wounds at the Pentagon , Birdwell was awarded the Purple Heart . Upon retirement , Birdwell received the Legion of Merit
Republican National Convention
2016 Republican National Convention
Brian Birdwell