Pentagon Memorial 9/11

Pentagon Memorial 9/11

After the Air Force Memorial, I took my son to the Pentagon Memorial.  I stopped here for the first time on my business trip in 2013.  So this was my second time visiting this memorial.

My son wasn’t born yet when the terrorist attack happened.  But he’s heard a lot about it throughout his life.  He learned about it in school obviously, as well as TV on the yearly anniversary of the attack.  He’s also heard us talk about it with friends and family.

He was alive when we found and captured the mastermind.  He and I discussed that when it happened.  We discussed how the mission was carried out and why it meant so much to our country.  We discussed all of the lives impacted and sacrificed.

This was a good stop for my son to see the actual place where one of the attacks took place that day.  To see how much the building was impacted and how many lives were lost just in that one location.  It made it real for him.

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About Pentagon Memorial 9/11

The Pentagon Memorial was opened on September 11, 2008, just 7 years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and an unknown destination which was intercepted by the passengers of flight 93 and ended up crashing in an empty field in Pennsylvania.

The Pentagon memorial was designed and constructed by engineer Buro Happold and architects Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman.  It includes trees, walking paths, memorial plaques, and 184 benches to honor each of the victims of the crash, excluding the five hijackers.

Each bench is inscribed with the name of a victim on the end.  The end arches over a shallow pool of water which is lit from below and contains the names of any family members who were also victims of the attack.

The benches for the victims who died in the Pentagon are facing the Pentagon so that if you are looking at the building, you see the names of the people that died inside.  The benches facing away from the Pentagon contain the names of the victims who died on the hijacked plane of flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon.  If you were facing those, you’d see their name and open sky.

Thin steel age lines mark the birth years of the victims, arranged by month and date of birth.  The design seeks to unify the victims regardless of their sex, wealth, or military status.

Important note: you may not take photographs from outside of the Pentagon Memorial.  Security will come after you if you do and your camera could be confiscated.  Make sure that you are inside the actual memorial before taking your pictures.

Summary

The Pentagon Memorial is another stop that may take up to an hour at most to visit.  It is one of the more memorable stops for my son and I because I mistakenly parked where I wasn’t supposed to, and he mistakenly took pictures where he wasn’t supposed to.

Security got after him, but we didn’t get caught parking in the wrong spot.  We won’t risk our luck on that again though.  We’ll find the right place to park next time.  And now my son knows where to take pictures.  Rebels, I tell ya.

This stop means a lot to me when I go there simply because I will never, ever forget how I felt that day.  I will never forget how it impacted me personally and how I came to know what happened.  If you remember that day and those attacks, I highly encourage you to stop at this memorial if you’re in the area.

I do feel sad when I visit and remember all of the innocent lives lost.  But it also reminds me of just how many people have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and how far our country has come.  Our history is very important, and we need to make sure we don’t forget.

Have you been there?  I’d love to hear what you thought of it.  Do you remember where you were that day?

Please drop a few lines in the comments box below and let me know how your visit went.

In the meantime, safe travels!

~Kris M.

P.S.  If you happen to use travel journals, be sure to check out the travel journal I created for my future Washington DC Road Trips.

Written by Kris M.