Earlier today, the Pentagon was open to the general public for tours. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I was able to see the indoor memorial and chapel. Unfortunately, photography is not permitted on Pentagon grounds, with no exceptions today. To help provide visuals, I have included some images freely available from the DOD.
As the tours were not widely advertised, the lines were short and security screening quick. Today, the outside of the Pentagon was adorned with a large American flag, which normally isn’t the case (flag wasn’t there yesterday). Next to the building entrance to the memorial is a charred, brick of limestone in the wall that is engraved with “September 11, 2001″. This piece of limestone was charred by burning hot jet fuel and fire from American Airlines Flight 77. This stone marks the spot where the plane crashed into the building.
Inside the memorial are several commemorative panels. On the left wall is a panel that displays a Purple Heart medal, which was awarded to each active member of the military who was killed in the Pentagon. A panel on the right wall displays the medal awarded posthumously to civilians killed there. The back wall features two panels that list the names of all the 184 victims, with a center panel that features tribute statements. In an adjacent room is the small Pentagon Memorial chapel, which features decorative stained glass windows.
America's Heroes Memorial
Stained glass windows in the Pentagon Memorial Chapel
As for the outdoor memorial, the tour guide explained that its construction should be completed in Spring 2007. I have passed by the Pentagon late at night, noticing the bright lights and construction crews still working.
While on the tour, I gazed out from the Pentagon towards the Citgo gas station and Sheraton hotel to see how good or poor the line of sight was. From the Pentagon, I could barely see the top of the Sheraton hotel, with the view obstructed by another building in front of the Sheraton. According to FBI testimony at the Moussaoui trial, the Sheraton did not have any security video, with nothing for the FBI to take. Even if it did have something, the line of sight is so poor, there is no way it could have captured the impact. The view of the Citgo wasn’t great either, with fencing for the Pentagon Memorial partially blocking my view. But, being familiar with this particular gas station, it isn’t oriented in quite the right way to allow its security cameras to capture anything of the crash of Flight 77.
Normally, only schools, veterans, and other groups that make tour reservations in advance are given tours of the Pentagon. Though, this marks the second year since 9/11 that the Pentagon has been open to the public. I expect the same next September.
Tags: anniversary, memorial, Pentagon