On 9/11/2001 at 0937, 51 mins after the first plane hit The World Trade Center the Pentagon was similarly attacked. Seven years after that attack The Pentagon Memorial was completed & will stand as an everlasting tribute to the innocent souls who perished on these grounds. There were 59 passengers on board Flight 77 and 125 military and civilian personnel who were working inside the Pentagon.
As you enter the cenotaph, you will pass over etched stone that reads, "September 11, 2001 -- 9:37 a.m.," the exact moment of the attack on the Pentagon.
The stone in which that infamous date is carved was recovered from the smoldering ruins of the Pentagon, still stained with the burn marks from the explosion and fire from Flight 77 slamming into the building.
There are 184 MEMORIAL UNITS. Each unit is dedicated to an individual victim – its placement and place within the collective field a unique instance. The field is organized as a timeline of the victims’ ages, spanning from Dana Falkenberg, 3 years old, to John D. Yamnicky, age 71. While each memorial unit locates itself on its respective age line, the units are then organized by birth date along the age line. Inherent tendencies – the clustering of certain age groups, the gap between the children and adults – are clearly evident and meaningful.
Fifty-nine memorial units face one direction, 125 face the other – thus distinguishing victims on board American Airlines Flight 77 from those who were inside the Pentagon. When visiting a memorial dedicated to a victim who was in the Pentagon, the visitor will see their engraved name and the Pentagon in the same view. Conversely, one would see the engraved name of a victim on Flight 77 with the sky.
The combined length of the perimeter benches plus the bench portion of each memorial unit provides more than 2,100 linear feet of seating surface. Birth years, used to locate the age lines, are inlaid stainless steel numbers set flush with the finished horizontal surface of the perimeter benches. The birth years are flanked by the stainless steel age lines that permeate the whole site.
The western edge of the site is defined with the AGE WALL – a wall that “grows” in height one inch per year relative to the age lines that organize the site at large. As one moves deeper into the site the wall gets higher – it grows from 3 inches above the perimeter bench (at Dana’s memorial age-line) to 71 inches above the bench (at John’s).
The interplay between the leaves of surrounding maple trees, light, bark, footpath gravel, grasses, water and the senses will provide an experience in the park that is touching and moving, one that creates a place of peace and remembrance.
The Pentagon Memorial serves a much greater purpose than just remembering the 184 people who were killed that day. This memorial will provide a place for future generations to remember and reflect on September 11, and its significance for us and our nation. This memorial will be a place of solace where visitors can renew their faith in, and commitment to the values that we all share.
This will be a place for people to come to make peace with their loss & to continue to kindle the memory of this unimaginable event in our countries history.
We Must Not Forget