On September 11, 2001, Dave Frederickson was on Capitol Hill when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. Frederickson was president of the Minnesota Farmers Union at the time, standing in front of the Longworth Building preparing for a meeting with a lawmaker. “All of a sudden this guy comes racing out of the door and said ‘run, run like hell.'” Capitol Hill is three miles from the Pentagon, but thick black smoke rising from Ground Zero was visible for much of the day. The farmers were in Washington for the National Farmers Union Fly-in, with air travel suspended. The Minnesota and South Dakota delegations traveled by bus to get home. “We were with people who had never flied before and there was no way they would be getting back on a plane.” Frederickson went on to serve as president of the National Farmers Union and as the Minnesota Agricultural Commissioner.
