The Pentagon Memorial, formally the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, located just southwest of

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

, across the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

from Washington, D.C., is a permanent outdoor memorial to the 184 people who died as victims in the building and on

American Airlines Flight 77 American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled American Airlines domestic transcontinental passenger flight from Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California. The Bo ...

during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. Designed by Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman of the architectural firm of

Kaseman Beckman Advanced Strategies Kaseman Beckman Advanced Strategies (KBAS) is a design and architecture firm founded in 2002 and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principals are Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman. Among the firm's completed projects are large-scale memorials ...

with engineers

Buro Happold Buro Happold (previously ''BuroHappold Engineering'') is a British professional services firm that provides engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management, and consulting services for buildings, infrastructure, and the environment ...

, the memorial opened on September 11, 2008, seven years after the attack.

Early memorials

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, an impromptu memorial was set up on a hill at the Navy Annex, overlooking the Pentagon. People came to pay respects and place tributes. One month after the attacks, 25,000 people attended a memorial service at the Pentagon for employees and family members; speakers included President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Preside ...

. Bush remarked, "The wound to this building will not be forgotten, but it will be repaired. Brick by brick, we will quickly rebuild the Pentagon." The

American flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...

that hung on the Pentagon, near the damaged section, was lowered during the service.

Victims of Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon Memorial

On September 12, 2002, the day after the first anniversary of the attacks, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General

Richard Myers Richard Bowman Myers (born March 1, 1942) is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As chairman, Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United Stat ...

, chairman of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

, dedicated the

Victims of Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon Memorial The Victims of Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon Memorial is a memorial over a group burial site at Arlington National Cemetery in the United States. It commemorates the victims of the attack on the Pentagon, which was struck by a Boeing 757 commer ...

at Arlington National Cemetery.Garamone, Jim. "Remains of Pentagon Attack Victims Buried at Arlington." American Forces Press Service. September 12, 2002.
Accessed September 7, 2011. A pentagonalPusey, Allen. "Final Service Honors Victims of Pentagon Attack." ''Dallas Morning News.'' September 13, 2002.

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marker high, the memorial honors the five people for whom no identifiable remains were found.Cass, Connie. "Cremated Remains of Pentagon Victims Are Laid to Rest at National Cemetery". ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

''. September 13, 2002. A portion of the remains of 25 other victims are buried at the site."Arlington Funeral Honors Unidentified Victims." CNN.com. September 12, 2002.
Accessed 2011-09-07. Around the top is inscribed "Victims of Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon September 11, 2001".

Aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

plaques, painted black, are inscribed with the names of the 184 victims.

America's Heroes Memorial

Opened in September 2002 after Pentagon repairs were completed, the ''Americas Heroes'' Memorial and chapel are located where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building. The memorial includes a book of photographs and biographies of the victims. It also includes five large black acrylic panels: one displays the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

medal awarded to military members killed in the attacks, another shows the medal given to civilians, two back wall panels are etched with the victims' names, and a center panel shows tribute statements. The small chapel, located in an adjacent room, has

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows with patriotic-themed designs.

Design and construction

The Pentagon Memorial was constructed from a design by Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, with design support from

and elta Fountains that was chosen following a design competition. The design competition included a group of 11 judges, including Terence Riley, the chief curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art, and two former secretaries of defense,

Melvin Laird Melvin Robert Laird Jr. (September 1, 1922 – November 16, 2016) was an American politician, writer and statesman. He was a U.S. congressman from Wisconsin from 1953 to 1969 before serving as Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973 under Pres ...

and Harold Brown. They viewed 1,126 memorial proposals from around the world. Of the six international finalists selected, all were designers: Jean Koeppel and Tom Kowalski, Mason Wickham and Edwin Zawadzki, Jacky Bowring, Shane Williamson, Michael Meredith, and Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman. The design by Beckman and Kaseman consisted of 184 illuminated benches, arranged according to the victims' ages, starting with Dana Falkenberg, age 3, to John Yamnicky Sr., age 71, in a landscaped plot. Each bench is engraved with the name of a victim. The benches representing the victims that were inside the Pentagon are arranged so those reading the names will face the Pentagon's south facade, where the plane hit; benches dedicated to victims aboard the plane are arranged so that those reading the engraved name will be facing skyward along the path the plane traveled. A shallow lighted pool of flowing water is positioned under each memorial bench. If more than one member of a family died during the attack, family names are listed in the reflecting pool under the bench, in addition to the separate benches that have been created for each individual. A wall along the edge of the Memorial begins at a height of 3 inches (7.6 cm) and rises to a height of 71 inches (180 cm), the ages of the youngest and oldest victim of the attack, and about 85 crepe myrtle trees are planted on the memorial grounds. Funding of $13.8 million had been raised for construction of the memorial by May 2007. Donations include $250,000 from

American Forests American Forests is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization, established in 1875, and dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy forest ecosystems. The current headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Activities The mission of America ...

towards planting trees at the memorial, and $1 million from the government of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. Construction began on June 15, 2006. By November 2006, site excavation, re-routing of existing

utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosophe ...

lines had been completed, and water lines laid for the

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

pools. By May 2007, the foundation of the perimeter wall was built and concrete pilings poured for each bench.

Dedication ceremony

The Memorial was dedicated and opened to the public on September 11, 2008. President George W. Bush called the memorial "an everlasting tribute to the 184 souls who perished." Over 20,000 people attended the dedication ceremony, including past Secretary of Defense

, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Michael Mullen Michael Glenn Mullen (born October 4, 1946) is a retired United States Navy admiral, who served as the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2007, to September 30, 2011. Mullen previously served as the Navy's 28th chief of ...

, and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates. It was opened to the public at 7 p.m. in a separate ceremony with a music performance by the Navy Band and the Sea Chanters Chorus. SFC Peter George Lentz unveiled the first bench.

Operations

The Memorial is open seven days a week, year-round. It is also the only place on the Pentagon grounds where photography by the public is permitted. As of August 2011, the memorial had received an annual average of 225,000 to 250,000 visitors.

Anniversary events

To commemorate the anniversary each year, an

is hung on the section of the Pentagon hit by Flight 77. At night, this section of the building is lit up in blue lights. For the fifth anniversary, a "Tribute of Lights" display included 184 beams of light from the center courtyard shining into the sky. Anniversary events also include the America Supports You National Freedom Walk, which has been held on Sundays. The walk starts at the

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in ...

and ends at the Pentagon. The Arlington Police/Fire/Sheriff 5K Race is held on Saturdays, around the anniversary, with the course going through part of Crystal City and through the Pentagon grounds. Memorial services are held on the anniversary of 9/11 at the Pentagon, with one service in an auditorium at the Pentagon for employees. A smaller service is held at the memorial site for family and friends of victims killed at the Pentagon on 9/11.

Gallery

File:US Navy 010912-N-3235P-024 Temporary chapel on Pentagon grounds.jpg, Temporary chapel created on Pentagon grounds one day after the attack File:Construction-Pentagon Memorial-2006.jpg, Construction of the memorial File:Start of Pentagon Memorial construction ceremony.jpg, Dedication ceremony marking the start of construction on the Pentagon Memorial File:Pentagon memorial construction.jpg, Construction of the Pentagon Memorial in September 2007 File:Uncovering Benches-Dedication Pentagon.jpg, Dedicating the memorial by uncovering the benches File:Pentagon blue lights.jpg, Pentagon lit up for 9/11 sixth anniversary File:Pentagon chapel.jpg, Pentagon chapel, established inside the building as part of reconstruction following the attack File:Pentagon Memorial dedication 2008 Crowd.jpg, Crowd at the dedication ceremony on September 11, 2008 File:9-11 Heroes Memorial Highway.jpg, Just outside the Pentagon Memorial wall and fence lies 9/11 Heroes Memorial Highway (

Virginia State Route 27 State Route 27 (SR 27) is a freeway in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States, known as Washington Boulevard. It was built during World War II to connect the Pentagon with U.S. Route 50 (US 50) and northern Arlington to the ...

) commemorating those who responded File:Presidents WreathPentagon Memorial.jpg, The President's wreath honoring the victims of the attack. File:Marine Explaining Pentagon Memorial.jpg, A Marine talking with visitors about the memorial. File:Pentagon Memorial Victims Names.jpg, Names of victims. File:Pentagon Memorial-Evening.jpg, The memorial in the evening. File:P20210911KR-0060 (51707387945).jpg, The Pentagon's '' Tribute in Light'' seen from the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

on September 11, 2021, 20 years after the attack.

References

External links

Pentagon Memorial WebsiteCNN Story on Pentagon Memorial Design Competition
- DefenseLINK News
Overview of Reflecting Pools and Benches
{{Washington DC landmarks Monuments and memorials in Virginia Memorials for the September 11 attacks

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...