Some of the names of the 184 people who died that day ... 
Walking up to the memorial ... This picture gives you an idea of how huge the Pentagon is. This picture shows one side of the five sides of the Pentagon, and I couldn't even get the whole side of the building in the photo. 
Walking onto the grounds you see engraved the time the plane hit the Pentagon. 
There are 184 granite and metal benches - one for each of the 184 victims. Each bench is engraved with a name of one of the victims. All of the benches are oriented in the direction of the flight path. 
Someone left a flag at the foot of one of the benches. 
Around the perimeter of the memorial is a stone wall.
In the stone wall you see plaques with years embedded in the stone wall. The plaques are arranged by years of birth of the victims. At one end are the bench memorials for the youngest victims and at the other end are the memorials for the oldest victims. In the picture below, you see the marker for the year 1998 - the birth year of the youngest victim. She was three years old.
In this picture below you can see that the benches are aligned with the year plaques in the stone wall and the the plaques are also in the direction of the flight path of the plane as it hit the Pentagon.
If you look closely at the picture you can see the building is lighter on one side and a little darker on the other. The part of the building on the lighter, left side is the new, rebuilt part of the building.
If you turn around the other way, you see below what direction the plane came from. The benches memorializing the victims on the plane face this direction. That giant structure with the three metal prongs sticking up in the air is the Air Force Memorial.
It was overcast today and so all of these pictures are somewhat dark. But overall it was a pretty amazing visit.
In the stone wall you see plaques with years embedded in the stone wall. The plaques are arranged by years of birth of the victims. At one end are the bench memorials for the youngest victims and at the other end are the memorials for the oldest victims. In the picture below, you see the marker for the year 1998 - the birth year of the youngest victim. She was three years old.
In this picture below you can see that the benches are aligned with the year plaques in the stone wall and the the plaques are also in the direction of the flight path of the plane as it hit the Pentagon.
If you look closely at the picture you can see the building is lighter on one side and a little darker on the other. The part of the building on the lighter, left side is the new, rebuilt part of the building. 
If you turn around the other way, you see below what direction the plane came from. The benches memorializing the victims on the plane face this direction. That giant structure with the three metal prongs sticking up in the air is the Air Force Memorial. 
Leaving the Pentagon Memorial, I noticed a big flag flying in the wind and so in the spirit of July 4th weekend, snapped a photo of old glory! A couple, seeing me taking the picture, thought it was a good idea too and asked me to take one of them in front of the flag. So of course I obliged.
It was overcast today and so all of these pictures are somewhat dark. But overall it was a pretty amazing visit. 
Kathleen,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very powerful and moving picture story! Thanks so much for posting it! We so often forget about those lost at the Pentagon that day..thanks for helping me remember!