On 9/11, remember a news reporter from Maine | Steve Collins

Pentagon officer and former Maine journalist among the victims of the 9/11 attacks

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the morning of September 11, 2001, a Boeing 757 carrying passengers to Los Angeles crashed into the Pentagon, killing 125 people inside the federal building. Among the dead was 38‑year‑old Navy commander Robert Allan Schlegel, a former student reporter from Gray, Maine, and a long‑time member of the U.S. Navy’s officer corps.

Schlegel was at his desk in the Pentagon’s eastern wing, planning ship deployments, when the aircraft slammed into the structure at 9:37 a.m. He was one of the 125 service members, civilian employees and contractors who lost their lives that day. The tragedy cut short a life that had already spanned two distinct careers – journalism and military service.

From the newsroom to the Navy

Schlegel grew up in Gray and attended high‑school in nearby Lewiston‑Auburn. He first dipped his toes into the world of reporting as a student journalist, before enrolling at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he studied journalism. After graduation he returned home and took a job at the Lewiston Daily Sun, a local daily newspaper that had long served the region.

During his tenure at the Sun he covered a range of community events. In 1985 he wrote a feature on the Fourth Annual Androscoggin Challenge Triathlon, asking why people were willing to run six miles, paddle 6.5 miles and cycle 25 miles for “just for fun.” In July he reported on the ninth annual Franco‑American Festival in Lewiston, describing Canadian and American officials “joining hundreds of people who crowded beneath the canvas of the C’est Si Bon Cafe at Kennedy Park.” A month later he described the arrival of “Pooch,” a golden retriever trained to live among elderly residents at Auburn’s Clover Manor Nursing Home.

Schlegel’s last story for the Sun appeared in November 1987, after which he left journalism to join the Navy. He was commissioned as an officer the following year and went on to serve on several ships, including a stint as executive officer aboard the destroyer USS Radford. He was known for his discipline, his familiarity with the hardships of naval life, and his ability to lead his crew under demanding conditions.

A life cut short

When the news of the attack broke, the Pentagon’s air‑strike team was quickly deployed to the damaged section of the building. In the immediate aftermath, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed that 125 people inside the building had died. Among those was Commander Schlegel, whose body was later identified by a combination of DNA testing and dental records.

Schlegel’s death was a loss not only to the Navy, but to the Maine community that had watched his early career unfold. Though he had been stationed on ships and in various ports around the world, he was often the same Maine‑born officer who would have been a grandfather to his grandchildren if he had lived.

Remembering a local hero

In the weeks after 9/11, a group of Maine journalists, including veteran reporter Steve Collins, began compiling stories of local residents who had died on that day. Collins, who had moved to Maine from New York in 1987, reflected on the tragedy’s impact on the region.

“The stories of people we grew up with or knew through the local papers, who were suddenly gone,” Collins said in an interview, “remind us that the attacks were not just a national tragedy but a personal loss for communities across the country.”

Schlegel’s family has requested that his memory be honored through remembrance ceremonies and educational efforts. The Navy has announced that it will name a scholarship fund in his honor for students pursuing careers in journalism or military service, to keep alive the dual legacies that defined his life.

Legacy

Schlegel’s life exemplified a commitment to public service, whether through the written word or in uniform. He was a witness to the power of community storytelling and the dedication of those who serve. Though his name may not appear on the names of every memorial plaque, his story remains an important part of the broader narrative of 9/11’s impact on individuals and families throughout America.