To be honest, one year ago today I was nervous to be living in the city. We had just moved, didn’t know anyone or our way around, had lived through the earthquake, and was now about to celebrate the 10th anniversary of September 11th in a city still bearing visible wounds. On one hand I felt a deep sense of pride but that was also accompanied by the frustration that I was scared to travel around my new city for fear of what might happen. I think a lot of people felt that in some way.
One year later I feel completely different. Over the past week I have enjoyed watching buildings all over the DMV hang gigantic flags in honor of 9/11 and was even surprised to find the 395 bridge waving about with dozens of flags on my way out of the city yesterday. It is a completely different feeling as people are finally able to reflect back while looking forward.
Eleven years ago I was a scared high school freshmen, last year we were blessed to get tickets to “A Concert for Hope” at the Kennedy Center- an event that inspired me to start this blog. In one week I will be moving to a new part of the city but for one day I think I am going to take an extra pause in the area that I have grown to love. I might even stop by the Pentagon Memorial on my way home from work.
If you haven’t been yet it is a must-see in Washington. Of all of the memorials around town, it is one commemorating an event in the spot it happened on a date that is still etched into so many of our memories. As a quick guide- the memorial is more like a small park on the side of the Pentagon that faces Washington Blvd. In it you will find 184 benches, one for every person killed at the site. Each bench is engraved on the end with the name of the victim and each rests along a timeline that indicates the year that person was born.
Each bench also has a running fountain underneath that helps visitors reflect on the events of that day. In some cases, multiple family members died in the attack and is indicated by names etched into metal plaques located in the fountain of the bench. The direction of each bench also holds significance. Stand where you can read the engraved name, if you are looking towards the building then that is where they were when the plane struck. On the other hand, if you are looking towards the sky (and southern Virginia) when reading the name, they died aboard the plane. There is also a wall that runs along the back edge of the memorial that rises in height as you walk further down the rows of benches. This too is tied directly to the ages of the victims. At its start, the wall stands just 3 inches tall, corresponding to the youngest victim. At its tallest, the wall is 71inches tall and represents the oldest victim. Both the youngest and oldest were on the plane that morning.
Unfortunately, I was not able to get pictures of most of the flags around town (that whole using your phone thing while driving doesn’t usually go over very well) but I was able to get a few. Hope you enjoy! I have also thrown in some pictures of the Pentagon Memorial – if you haven’t been yet, you really should go! Can’t get to DC but want to learn more? Check out the memorial’s website here.
Where were you 11 years ago and what are you doing to commemorate the day? Is your town doing anything special to show support?
From Carolina to the Capital 
I always appreciate a great article or piece of writing. Thanks for the contribution.