Pentagon 9/11 Memorial

This week, we visited the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. This is the memorial built to commemorate those killed when Flight 77, hijacked by muslim terrorists, crashed into the Pentagon, killing all on board and many in the building.

It's a public memorial, just off of the South parking lot. Most visitors will have to park at the Pentagon City Mall and walk over or be dropped off unless they have a handicapped placard enabling them to use one of the six handicapped parking spots set aside for memorial visitors. There is no parking for anyone else on the Pentagon reservation.

At the entrance to the memorial is a marker listing the names of all those killed.

I've put those names at the end of this post.


The memorial is a two-acre plaza filled with benches, one for each person killed here on 9/11.

Then benches are in rows, and the rows are set up in order of the birth year of the person or persons killed.

The first row has one bench, that of Dana Falkenberg. She was three years old when she died on that plane.

Her family members, also killed, are listed in the water at the base of her bench; her name is on theirs as well, and theirs can be found further into the memorial, according to the year in which they were born.

The wall of the Pentagon, since repaired, where the plane struck.

Some of the benches. 184 of them in all.

The orientation of the bench depends on where the person was that day. Those oriented towards the Pentagon were on the aircraft. Those oriented away from the Pentagon were in the building.

To the west, the Air Force Memorial can be seen.

Another view of the new wall.

The memorial is a somber place, yet peaceful.

Jets still fly overhead on their way into Reagan National. Life goes on and we don't change for cowardly terrorists.

Come dusk, the benches are all illuminated by lights in the water below.

These lights and a few small ones recessed around the memorial are the only illumination at night, and they really give the monument a serene feeling.

The Pentagon is lit up too, both inside and out. because the business of America's defense never stops.

The dead, both from the plane and the Pentagon. Listed alphabetically, the year that they were born is given first. Their benches can be found by finding the row for that year.

Never forget, America.

Never--EVER--forget.

Fourteen years ago, it was such an abominable outrage that is was visible from outer space.

And since that day, over 1400 of the first responders who ran to help and stayed in the aftermath have died of 9/11-related respiratory disease and cancers linked to the toxic environment that they worked in.

The death toll from 9/11 continues to rise. The numbers are growing.

These are some of the faces.


Never forget.

343 Firefighters killed that day. More dying now from the after-effects.

71 police officers from ten different agencies killed on that day. Over 160 dead now.

Remember the heroes. When thousands were running out, they were the ones running in and remaining afterwards to put things right. And they paid a heavy price indeed.

In a field in Pennsylvania

On the trip home this past Monday, I had a special passenger with me who wanted to see the Flight 93 Memorial in Storystown, Pennsylvania.

It's really just a short drive off of the turnpike from either Somerset or Bedford, and worth the trip lest we forget what happened on September 11, 2001.

This is the place where United Flight 93, hijacked by terrorists who planned to fly it into the US Capitol, struck the ground as the passengers and crew fought to retake the aircraft. The monument here still under construction, is expected to be completely finished by September of this year. But most of it's complete now, including a small visitor center with a ranger who gives talks.

And there are signs with photos of the forty Americans murdered here that morning.

One name has always stood out to me.

Richard Guadagno was a Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Supervisor. He was authorized to carry a firearm and he had it with him on that day. But due to the laws and policies in effect on that day, he was not allowed to have it with him on board the aircraft, so it was in his checked baggage in the cargo compartment. One has to wonder if things would have turned out differently for forty people had he been allowed to carry it with him that day.

Today, there's a walkway out into the field where the plane hit the ground in a dive at 563mph. It left a crater 8-10 feet deep, but plane fragments were recovered from as deep as 40 feet below ground level. The hole has been filled in now, and a boulder marks the exact spot.

The walkway has niches where people can and still do leave mementos.

At the end of the walkway is a white wall with the names of those killed.

Without his gun on September 11, 2001.

You should have had this then, but I'll loan you mine now.

The walk back, surrounded by tranquil farmland, give you plenty of time to think.

The boulder marking the exact spot. It's covered with mementos, too.

And farther up the hill is the actual museum and visitor center, still under construction.

A close-up. When finished, this walled walkway will take visitors down towards the impact area. The walls are intended to put you in the place of those on board, as you'll be able to see nothing outside save the impact site getting closer and you walk along.

There will be a large museum with plenty of photos and artifacts when it's finally completed.

Now I'd been here before, but only way back when it was just a fence section in a field.

2007 Visit to Flight 93 Memorial

To me, that one was much more moving and real. But opinions vary.

I've also flown over and seen it from above on a couple of flights:

No matter how you see it though, you've got to see it. If only to remind us what America is up against. Remember this the next time that Barry Obama tells us that we don't have a problem with islam.