A memorial you may not have seen
posted at 11:41 am on May 25, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
In 2005, the First Mate and I had our most memorable Fourth of July experience ever: a guided tour of the Pentagon, conducted by a military officer who was an avid reader of Captain’s Quarters. He walked us through the entire building — an amazing office complex — and spent hours with us away from his family so that we could enjoy our Independence Day on our first visit to the nation’s capital. One particular part of the tour made a lasting impression on me. In the area where the hijacked plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, the Department of Defense created a memorial for all those who died that day in the service of their nation, and I was allowed to take some photos of the memorial area.
This is the chapel in the memorial. The lights are kept low, and benches allow for prayer or contemplation:
This display notes that unlike most Purple Heart recipients, those who received this award on 9/11 did so defending our native soil.
It took me a couple of tries to get this shot without having glare bouncing back and obscuring the names of the lost and missing from 9/11.
This display holds books of remembrances of the fallen heroes at the Pentagon on 9/11. The inscription at the top reads:
“On September 11, 2001, terrorists killed 184 innocent men, women, and children at the Pentagon. They were husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, friends and loved ones. In attacking them, terrorists aimed to frighten and divide; instead, the nation united as never before. United in sorrow, yes, but also in determination … to defend this country, to defeat those who visited evil upon her, and in so doing, secure the blessings of liberty for future generations. In this way America honors their sacrifice … and gives thanks for their lives.”
This display honors the civilian employees of the Pentagon who died on 9/11. The DoD created this medal as a way to honor them, and to honor civilians who died in service to their nation in the future.
I would once again like to express my appreciation to the officer who gave us this guided tour, who wished to remain anonymous.
Blowback
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Wow.
Words just don’t describe the simple majesty of that.
The_Livewire on May 25, 2009 at 11:45 AM
9/11 never forget
William Amos on May 25, 2009 at 11:47 AM
I worked at the Pentagon for a while (if I told you what I did, I’d have to kill you). It is an amazing place. I recall a display honoring Medal of honor recipients. Amazingly, there was one soldier who jumped on two hand grenades. One right after the other, not both at once.
I was also struck by one fact that has stayed with me: the most over-represented group among MoH winners was Hispanics.
Akzed on May 25, 2009 at 11:48 AM
Awesome!!!! Thanks for sharing this with us CE.
Keemo on May 25, 2009 at 11:49 AM
This is the kind of memorial we get when it is the military giving honor to their own. They know the sacrifices and risks each person makes when they join the defense of this nation and her people.
God Bless America, especially her fallen heroes and their families.
Jvette on May 25, 2009 at 11:50 AM
That is just beautiful, and brings tears to my eyes. Thank you so much, for sharing that with us.
capejasmine on May 25, 2009 at 11:51 AM
Thank you so much Ed for sharing this. It is wonderful for our nation to remember those at the Pentagon who died. God bless all our fallen men and women and their families since the beginning of our Republic.
L
letget on May 25, 2009 at 11:53 AM
Most would never get the chance to see this. Thanks for sharing.
Send_Me on May 25, 2009 at 11:53 AM
Glad you had a good visit ed. Thanks to your reader who hooked you up.
Round here there are pieces of the wtc everywhere at memorials in different places
Schools
Fire depts etc.
But there is one in particular I like most. It’s a quiet, unassuming little memorial where two roads meet. There’s a nice brick square for one to walk around and near the flowers and flag is a piece of the south tower with pictures of various people killed there.
Just touching it was so overwhelming. But it’s a good spot. If you go there in the evening, when the suns lowering and no one is around
It is a good place to go and just think.
blatantblue on May 25, 2009 at 11:54 AM
The pictures you posted are real nice
It’s a classy memorial
blatantblue on May 25, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Thanks, Ed. Very nice memorial, & well deserved honor for those who sacrificed.
jgapinoy on May 25, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Sad to say most have forgotten.
faol on May 25, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Both you & the officer have quite a story to pass on!
jgapinoy on May 25, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Thanks Ed. What a touching memorial for the people who never seem to get mentioned when the lives lost on 9/11 are discussed. It is comforting to see such a dignified memorial made without all of the craven bickering over design and money that has been associated with the Twin Towers memorial.
chromium on May 25, 2009 at 12:02 PM
You’re a good kid, your parents must be very proud.
thomasaur on May 25, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Thank you for posting this. Very moving.
My across-the-street neighbor was on the plane – Norma Cruz Khan. I was less than a mile away. Knew lots of people that were there. The memories of that day are incised on my brain.
May we continue to live up to our credo of American Exceptionalism.
NaCly dog on May 25, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Got a tour of the Pentagon by a wonderful Army chaplain who is no longer with us. Saw this chapel and have a replica of the stained glass memorial on our wall. We remember our military every day in prayer. Thank you to all our troops and all our veterans and all your families for your sacrifices for our freedom!
Christian Conservative on May 25, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Awesome.
Midas on May 25, 2009 at 12:10 PM
No one has forgotten. To their shame, that they do not feel, they simply choose to disregard and dishonor the fallen.
Perhaps the most sorrowful and tearful music ever written, used in memory of that most painful day.
Never again!
Loxodonta on May 25, 2009 at 12:11 PM
I saw the memorial last time I was in D.C. it was very touching. I had an uncle who was very badly injured in the Pentagon on 9/11 and it was powerful to see it. Particularly because I was there in January of 2002 and could still see that horrible scar in the side of the building.
I had to do CACO duty about a week ago, no matter how many times I take that flag and hand it to a greiving mother, it does not get any easier.
Squid Shark on May 25, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Thoughtful to share.
God rest their souls.
maverick muse on May 25, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Never again!
Loxodonta on May 25, 2009 at 12:11 PM
We can only pray.
faol on May 25, 2009 at 12:19 PM
I didn’t realise that so many had died in the Pentagon attack. May they rest in peace.
Evil Pundit on May 25, 2009 at 12:22 PM
I can’t forget 9/11, no matter how much I try. I am stuck in that warp of time and I think it has changed my entire world view. It’s a cosmic injustice.
promachus on May 25, 2009 at 12:25 PM
hopefully…
Thanks. Maybe they are every once in a while.
Well, you’re doing something most of us couldn’t.
blatantblue on May 25, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Here we are again, fighting each other.
Platoon
maverick muse on May 25, 2009 at 12:31 PM
We were there last July 31, Ed, to think of SGM Larry Strickland and them all. It was a hard place to stand, looking out that window across the then near completed outdoor memorial, seeing where the light poles were sheered off, and remembering … a hard place.
Sergeant Tim on May 25, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Pray, yes. Every day. But also, let us also take our memories, sorrows, anger, intelligence, strength and will, and put them to good work.
Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission.
We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.
– George Washington
Address to the Continental Army before the Battle of Long Island (August 27, 1776)
Loxodonta on May 25, 2009 at 12:32 PM
I can’t either.
The fire trucks have 9/11 all over them
The delis and pizzerias have the “never forget” things inside and out
Lots of bars and pubs and restaurants do too
the schools do
the shops do
then like i said before there are memorials everywhere at FDs, town centers, stores, schools
I’m not saying its a bad thing, don’t get me wrong. I just feel like I’m living in the shadow of 9/11 all the time. I’m not saying that is bad either.
blatantblue on May 25, 2009 at 12:41 PM
Never forget. Never forgive.
May God be with all those who were lost on 9/11, and at any other time and place in defense of the greatest country on Earth, the United States of America. Heroes one and all.
KSgop on May 25, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Thank you Mr.Morrissey for this. At least once a day I bow in prayer of rememberance and thankfulness for those who have sacrificed and those who continue to put their lives on the line for this nation.
I have never been good with words,but everyday I will continue to live my life in service to those who have served and are serving now. This is my humble way of saying thank you. We will never forget you. This nation is forged in your blood and we endeavor to live up to your sacrifice.
Candi Taylor (mil-spouse of 24 years).
canditaylor68 on May 25, 2009 at 12:43 PM
IDK, Candi. I’d say you are rather eloquent in your writing. Just an observation.
blatantblue on May 25, 2009 at 12:46 PM
As a Canadian,I salute,honour,and will always remember 9/11,
the Pentagon,as well as ‘Lets Roll’,flight 93,in the same
manner,as ‘Pearl Harbour’!!!
Never again!!!!
—————
And,on Atlas Shrugs,half way down her page,Pamela Geller,
has some good pictures,of the American Military grave sites,
located in Europe!
—————–
And,heres a website of interest,
http://www.usmemorialday.org/
canopfor on May 25, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Stone from the pentagon on the grounds at West Point…thought I’d share my pics of it:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Bridget1970/Westpoint#
hope that works~
bridgetown on May 25, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Stone from thr Petagon…….
bridgetown on May 25,2009 at 1:04PM.
bridgetown: Thank-You for sharing your pictures!:)
canopfor on May 25, 2009 at 1:09 PM
Thanks, Ed. All of these folks were my shipmates, and I personally knew five of them. It’s still hard to see their names on a plaque. But — thanks.
Semper vigilans
J.E. Dyer on May 25, 2009 at 1:10 PM
I was fortunate to have attended the dedication of the outdoor Pentagon Memorial last September 11. It was an unforgettable day. I hope you visited it as well.
I was on Capitol Hill on 9/11. The passengers on United 93 who fought back and brought that plane down may have saved my life, or at least the horror of seeing my Capitol destroyed and friends incinerated.
So I, for one, will never forget.
rockmom on May 25, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Captain, thanks for sharing such rare photographs on this Memorial Day.
God Bless the men and women and their families who made the ultimate sacrifice defending this nation.
nagee76 on May 25, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Even sadder? Some people still are convinced it never happened.
One of my cousins, who is a US Navy research scientist, was working at her lab that morning-it’s located very close to the Pentagon. They all rushed over and started setting up air-monitoring equipment outside the Pentagon. She said it was a scene she will never forget.
Del Dolemonte on May 25, 2009 at 1:25 PM
God Bless, may they all forever Rest In Peace.
byteshredder on May 25, 2009 at 1:26 PM
A year or two ago, I was moved by a speech by a survivor of the Pentagon attack on 9/11, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Brian Birdwell. He was just about 20 feet from the point of impact and suffered severe injuries, but his speech had humor and was very moving. Click for link.
Christian Conservative on May 25, 2009 at 1:44 PM
If I have ever made any inappropriate comments in these threads which were directed towards you, I hereby apologize.
Flag duty must be done but it cannot be done by just anybody. Your service in this regard is deeply appreciated.
platypus on May 25, 2009 at 1:45 PM
Not a single day goes by that I don’t think of that fateful day. Especially having seen the devastation here in NYC with my own eyes. I’ve heard there was a memorial at the Pentagon, but haven’t seen it until…now. Thanks for posting this one, Ed.
It’s amazing, the difference between the Pentagon and Ground Zero, as far as repairing the physical damage…putting up a memorial…and getting back to business. When all the political and other red tape is removed, the contrast is stark. The Pentagon was done in months. Ground Zero has basically just begun to be constructed in earnest.
JetBoy on May 25, 2009 at 1:58 PM
What a beautiful place.
Cindy Munford on May 25, 2009 at 2:06 PM
This is awesome. Wish the media would cover this on Memorial Day.
God bless them all and God bless America.
azcop on May 25, 2009 at 2:10 PM
Jetboy
It saddened me so much when I got to ground zero
Just still a big hole
blatantblue on May 25, 2009 at 2:11 PM
The ending of the sweetest and most comforting requiem I know, for those feeling loss on this day:
In paradisum deducant te angeli,
in tuo adventu
suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te
in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
aeternam habeas requiem.
May the angels lead you into paradise,
may the martyrs receive you
in your coming,
and may they guide you
into the holy city, Jerusalem.
May the chorus of angels receive you
and with Lazarus once poor
may you have eternal rest.
Amen.
†
Loxodonta on May 25, 2009 at 2:26 PM
Yes, very. Thanks Ed.
Zorro on May 25, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Thank you for sharing that, Ed – very moving and interesting. The memorial is a fitting reminder of the shocking end of innocent lives at the hands of cowards. May we never forget.
KS Rex on May 25, 2009 at 2:35 PM
I will NEVER forget my friend’s call to me… “Barb, turn on your TV…a plane just hit the World Trade Center”.
annoyinglittletwerp on May 25, 2009 at 2:38 PM
God Bless America and may He continue to do so. God Bless the men and women who give and gave their lives so we may continue to live ours.
red131 on May 25, 2009 at 3:13 PM
Thanks Ed.
Honor to all whose sacrifice keeps us free.
(Why does this make me want to smack a Troofer?)
profitsbeard on May 25, 2009 at 3:18 PM
The next time I get to visit my friends in NYC, I’ll get that address from you.
ladyingray on May 25, 2009 at 3:20 PM
Thanks for the pics, Ed.
ladyingray on May 25, 2009 at 3:23 PM
May they rest in peace and their murderers rest in pieces.
Dark-Star on May 25, 2009 at 4:01 PM
These monuments created in stone
Are in memory that in our heart is borne
Of people who have sacrificed
Those for their country have died
In this we are all together, and never alone
OneConservative on May 25, 2009 at 5:06 PM
ed and AP: no memorial to the messiah’s memorial day blunder last year?
how could you forget that he sees dead people and doesn’t know WWII history?
i’m disappointed. ;-)
homesickamerican on May 25, 2009 at 5:09 PM
“Battle Hymn of the Republic” written by Julia Ward Howe first published version, February, 1862
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
“As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on.”
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me:
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
I thank you for the photo tour
entagor on May 25, 2009 at 5:25 PM
That’s beautiful, Ed. thanks for showing it.
I shouldn’t mention this perhaps, but I just want to thank everyone here and at our other favorite sites for honoring our people properly. I made the mistake of going on a lefty site, and I don’t have to tell you the kind of thoughtlessness I saw.
So thanks to all of you.
juliesa on May 25, 2009 at 5:26 PM
Lincoln attempted a dedication to those killed in battle. He weighed the sacrifice of the dead and found it immeasurable. Nothing has better expressed the magnitude of sacrifice than his Gettysburg address:
“Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war. . .testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . . we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. . .that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. . . that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . . and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth. A. Lincoln 1863 “
If there could be an addendum to such pure language, it is the War never ends, soldiers will always be needed, and the greatness in some men leads them beyond the footprints of men
entagor on May 25, 2009 at 5:34 PM
I had no idea. Thank you for sharing this Ed.
oakpack on May 25, 2009 at 5:42 PM
God Bless and Keep our Fallen……….
Seven Percent Solution on May 25, 2009 at 5:46 PM
OT:
a group of about 60 professors petitioned the White House, asking the first black U.S. president to break tradition and not memorialize military members from the Confederacy
faraway on May 25, 2009 at 6:54 PM
Links from the 2008 (9/11) Pentagon Memorial Service
1st Video
http://blip.tv/file/1820308/
2nd Video
http://blip.tv/file/1827836/
bgiltner on May 25, 2009 at 7:45 PM
Well,
Thank you for this post.
highhopes on May 25, 2009 at 7:48 PM
Thanks, Cap’n Ed. I wasn’t aware of this memorial. A very beautiful reminder of the cost of freedom. My prayers and sincere thanks to all vets, and the families who morn loved ones who gave their lives for our republic.
Orson Buggeigh on May 25, 2009 at 7:51 PM
I will NEVER forget waking up (in California) to the first reports about a “commuter plane” hitting the WTC. I was thinking a small plane, not a Boeing-727. After the second plane hit the commentary got more intense but they refused to call it terrorism, asking questions about the traffic control systems. Then as I was driving into work at a Navy Base, the third plane hit the Pentagon and all doubt was removed.
Most of the following days was a blur with the exceptions of shock when the WTC towers collapsed (it never even entered my mind that this was a possiblity) and surprise to find out my brother who lives in NYC had just moved into the area around the WTC (he was fine but out of his apartment for over two months).
Throughout it all I wanted the bastards who did this brought to justice. I’m not sure that is going to happen now that we have a terrorist-loving liar in the White House.
highhopes on May 25, 2009 at 7:57 PM
Video from 2008 (9/11) Ceremony (2 Parts)
Part 1
http://blip.tv/file/1820308/
Part 2
http://blip.tv/file/1827836/
bgiltner on May 25, 2009 at 8:05 PM
We stand on the shoulders of giants.
Sekhmet on May 25, 2009 at 8:38 PM
I remember getting up in the morning, just to find something to watch, and the news report broke in about the first plane. Like my friend the auto mechanic who himself had just gotten to work, it seemed to be some moron in a Cessna.
Then the second plane hit.
It was all a blur after that. I vaguely remember running out for chicken at dinnertime, the incredibly long lines to give blood we decided could not be managed with a three-year-old boy’s patience, but it was all just a blur. A scary, sad, blur.
Sekhmet on May 25, 2009 at 8:42 PM
God bless America and our brave men and women in uniform. Thanks to those who lost loved ones in battle and to those who gave the untimate sacrifice.
America is still the best country in the world because of people like that.
dthorny on May 25, 2009 at 8:50 PM
I’ll never forget 9th grade homeroom
The principal told us over the pa to turn on our Tvs
The north tower was hit.
Kids freaked because their parents worked there/were there visiting/on their way to the wtc.
The firemen from our towns volunteered and left for manhattan
My family came home to so many voicemails wondering if my dad was ok cause he flew for AA out of laguardia. His buddy was flying that day, and his plane was targeted out of laguard. Thankfully the plane had a mechanical failure and never got to take off.
I’ll never forget the silence. It was everywhere. A still, trepidatious silence.
Never ever forget. I know I never will
blatantblue on May 25, 2009 at 8:56 PM
Thanks for sharing Ed.
Is it me or are too many already forgetting ? ?
Watched “Band of Brothers” this weekend on the History
channel. Saw parts of it before but this time it seems
like the country is letting so many of those who gave so
much down.
Went to the Vietnam Memorial Wall to see my friend again. . . . I’m spent.
Texyank on May 25, 2009 at 9:29 PM
I still remember this letter from my history class and again from “Saving Private Ryan”.
“EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Nov. 2I, 1864. ” To MRS. BIXBY, BOSTON, MASS.
Dear Madam—I have been shown, in the files of the War Department, a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which shall attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
gordo on May 25, 2009 at 10:45 PM
Thank you, Captain Ed, for sharing the tributes to the fallen at the Pentagon. They are a powerful reminder of that sorrowful day.
Loxodonta, I appreciate, too, your link to “Adagio for Strings.” It is one of my favorites for its poignancy, and the video accompanying the performance underscores the loss and yearning that words cannot describe.
onlineanalyst on May 25, 2009 at 10:56 PM
Very moving. Thanks for the photos.
Urban Infidel on May 25, 2009 at 11:24 PM
Ed, THANKS for the great post. I was just in the Chapel on Memorial Day (morning) after I got off watch, paying my respects to CAPT Bob Dolan, USN, who died on 9/11… God bless…
Khun Joe on May 25, 2009 at 11:59 PM
Thank you for the photos. I often feel that the Pentagon attack remains underappreciated in it’s scope and loss on that tragic day, and seeing a memorial that I would likely not otherwise see helps me to honor them with the others who have fallen.
God bless, and Happy Memorial Day :)
DrAllecon on May 26, 2009 at 1:11 AM
Great post, Ed! Sending from the Pentagon, “on watch”…
Khun Joe on May 26, 2009 at 2:13 AM
I found the best explanation I have ever seen, of what we owe our fallen soldiers here.
.
http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=46
darktood on May 26, 2009 at 6:00 AM
Thank you Ed for sharing that, I did not know it was there.
4shoes on May 26, 2009 at 7:38 AM
Given what you saw their, and those who have willfully given their lives in defense of liberty, you may want to view this site: http://www.thethirdjihad.com/about_new.php
oldleprechaun on May 26, 2009 at 8:25 AM