The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial is a memorial to the 184 victims who died in the building and on American Airlines Flight 77 on 9/11. It is made up of 184 illuminated benches, arranged according to the victims’ ages, starting with a 3-year-old and ending with a 71-year-old. Also, a wall along the edge of the memorial begins at a height of 3 inches and rises to a height of 71 inches.
Each bench is engraved with the name of a victim. Those representing the victims that were inside the Pentagon are positioned so that when you’re reading their names, you will face the area of the building where the plane hit. The benches dedicated to the victims aboard the plane are placed so that while reading their engraved name, you will be facing skyward along the path that Flight 77 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.
Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman are the designers of this poignant, incredibly thoughtful tribute to the victims at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Even with the nearby highway’s traffic, you can hear the running water from every bench as you walk through the memorial. With my limited sight, I was unable to see its expanse, but the sound of the water washed over me. I put myself on that plane. I imagined being in an office setting, in the hall or at my desk in the Pentagon, the building a stone’s throw away from where I now stood. I paid my respects, I said a prayer.
As we walked back to our car, I could still make out the rippling water, even after I buckled my seat belt and closed the door. I hear it now. Do you?
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter #ushistory #september11 #neverforget #national911pentagonmemorial
