The Pentagon 9/11 Memorial

THE PENTAGON

9/11 Memorial

By J.R. Wilson

Herb Wolk (right) and his daughter, Devora Kirschner, reflect while sitting on a bench that serves as a memorial for Navy Lt. Darin Pontell before the 9/11 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 11, 2014. Kirschner was married to Pontell when he was killed during the attack on the Pentagon Sept. 11, 2001.

DOD Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jette Carr

“We claim this ground in remembrance of the events of September 11, 2001, to honor the 184 people whose lives were lost, their families and all who sacrifice that we may live in freedom. We will never forget.”

Those words are engraved on a black granite stone standing at the Memorial Gateway of the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, just outside the Pentagon, marking the time and date – 9:37 a.m., Sept. 11, 2001 – when a hijacked airliner was deliberately crashed into the west side of the Department of Defense headquarters, killing 184 people aboard the plane and in the Pentagon (not counting the five al-Qaeda terrorists).

The other side of the entry stone lists contributors to the memorial, including those involved in the design, construction, and private funding of the project. The stone also is the beginning of a 24-minute audio tour for visitors, which can be accessed by calling a number on their cellphones.

On entering the memorial grounds, visitors cross the Zero Line – demarcating the separation between the Memorial Gateway and the remainder of the memorial – on which is inscribed the date and time of the crash. Beyond are parallel stainless steel age lines, the first physical tribute to the victims, running at a nearly 45-degree angle to the Pentagon along the flight path of the plane. Each line marks the age of a victim of the attack, and along each line stands a Memorial Unit to that casualty. Each Memorial Unit comprises an illuminated, cantilevered stainless steel bench inlaid with granite and engraved with the name of a victim, arching over a shallow reflecting pool of running water, lit from below. If more than one member of the same family died in the crash, the name of each family member is inscribed in the pool, as well as on their individual benches. The 2-acre memorial features 184 Memorial Units.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis visits the Pentagon Memorial Chapel, Jan. 23, 2017.

Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley

The 125 benches dedicated to those who died inside the Pentagon are arranged so visitors reading the names will face the Pentagon’s south facade, where the plane hit; 59 benches honoring victims aboard the plane are arranged so those reading the engraved names will be facing skyward, along the path the plane traveled.

While the benches have been arranged according to the victims’ ages, starting with 3-year-old Dana Falkenberg and running to Capt. John Yamnicky Sr., USN (Ret.), age 71, those ages also are reflected in a wall along the edge of the memorial, which begins at a height of 3 inches and rises to a height of 71 inches. In addition, 85 crape myrtle trees surround the benches.

The water in the pools beneath each bench is turned off at 9:37 a.m. every day in a moment of silence commemorating the exact time of the crash.

The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial was opened to the public on Sept. 11, 2008, seven years after the attack. In his remarks at the ceremony, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the memorial was an important element in bringing the nation together:

“With this memorial, we pay our respects to the 184 souls, to the many who were injured, and to the families who still grieve.

A U.S. soldier stands at a bench in the Pentagon Memorial during the 9/11 Observance Ceremony held at the Pentagon Memorial, Sept. 11, 2018.

DOD Photo by Air Force Master Sgt. Angelita M. Lawrence

A U.S. soldier stands at a bench in the Pentagon Memorial during the 9/11 Observance Ceremony held at the Pentagon Memorial, Sept. 11, 2018.

While no public display can make up for the injustice or lessen the pain of their losses, the one that we dedicate today binds all of America to the dead and their survivors. Your suffering and your solace, so personal to you, become the nation’s as well. From now on, the Pentagon is more than a symbol of government, more than the seat of military affairs: it is a place of remembrance.”

The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial was designed and constructed by architects Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman and engineer Buro Happold. Although some 1,100 designs were submitted, on March 3, 2003, theirs was the unanimous choice of a jury comprising architects, family members of the deceased, and public figures from the greater Washington, D.C. area.

Pentagon Memorial Fund Director and September 11 National Memorial Trail Board Member Thomas Heidenberger lost his

wife, Michele, who was the lead flight attendant of Flight 77, on 9/11: “When one visits the memorial, one senses that they are in a place of American history, that they are in or on sacred ground. The memorial not [only] recognizes the sacrifice of the victims of 9/11, but also honors their memory and their lives with the memorial itself. The layout and representation of the benches and the reflecting pool under each bench, with the sound of rushing water, creates a place to remember our loved ones, to reflect on the sacrifice of so many, and to renew our commitment to continue with our lives.”