Olympic torch arrives in nation's capital

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The Olympic torch took an emotional route through the nation's capital Friday, passing the damaged Pentagon where terrorists slammed a hijacked airliner into the building on Sept. 11.

The torch arrived at the Pentagon just after noon, under clear blue skies and chilly temperatures, carried by Chief Petty Officer Bernard Brown, whose son was among the 189 killed there.

A crowd of about 300 heard the strains of a U.S. Army band and watched a ceremonial color guard welcome the symbol of 2002 Winter Games.

"This is closure for me and the families," said Staff Sgt. Chris Braman, 33, a U.S. Army cook. Braman was injured at the Pentagon and tried to save three people, one of whom survived. Braman received a Purple Heart.

"I saw what our fallen looked like," he said, adding he would be thinking of that fateful day as he carried the torch from the Pentagon's main entrance.

After the Pentagon, the torch headed through streets of Alexandria, Va., where George Washington once walked.

"I'm dedicating my run to the 343 New York firefighters who lost their lives Sept. 11," said Philip Buffa, Jr., a District of Columbia firefighter for 22 years. Under his Olympic issue running togs, he wore the names of each of those slain heroes laminated in paper strips inside his clothing.

The torch arrived later in the District of Columbia -- more than an hour behind schedule -- in the Anacostia neighborhood, one of the capital city's poorest areas. Children from a nearby elementary school braved temperatures in the low 40's to cheer on the first runner, Meredith Balmon, a two-time Olympian from Rockville, Md.

"It's a tremendous honor to be a link in the chain" carrying the torch from Greece to Salt Lake City, Balmon said.

On Saturday, the torch will be taken to the White House before proceeding on to Baltimore, Wilmington, Del., and Philadelphia. It will be carried by Elizabeth Anderson Howell, whose husband, Brady Howell, was killed in the Pentagon crash, and Georgetown University student Eric Jones, who helped carry wounded victims out of the Pentagon, said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

The runners will be greeted by President Bush, who is "very proud to welcome them to his home in Washington and to see them carry the torch for our nation," Fleischer said.

By the time the torch reaches Salt Lake City on Feb. 6, it will have covered 13,500 miles and been handled by 11,500 people.

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On the Net:

Official site of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games: http://www.saltlake2002.com