As a follow-up to my post about 9/11 I wanted to share more pictures from today. In addition to more great flags hanging around town I was able to stop by the Pentagon Memorial site on my way home from work. The pictures at the bottom of this page are different from those posted yesterday. A few show the flag hanging from my office, including what it looks like from inside the building behind the stars and stripes. Enjoy!
Just as it was 11 years ago, the sky was perfectly clear and a beautiful shade of blue. I found myself wandering the benches and eventually sat down on one to just take it all in. Today felt different from the other days I have visited. It wasn’t just that the flag was flying at half-staff, wreaths laying at the entrance, the large flag draped over the side of the Pentagon, or even the sight of fresh flowers dotting benches throughout the memorial. It seemed that on this day, I felt more connected to those in the building and on the plane than ever before. Each picture I took wasn’t just an image, in some ways it almost felt like an invasion of privacy. It is easy to go to memorials and think about the whole, the number we lost, the outcome but here you come face to face with the individual, even if in name only. You see what year they were born, can figure how old they were, and even see who else in their family might have been lost. Today you could also see the remnants of those who lost them.
To say the least it was a sobering moment. Looking around, it was sometimes hard to tell if the people passing through were merely visitors like myself or family and friends of love ones lost. I thought that by coming in the afternoon I would miss seeing the majority of family but was surprised to find people crying, hugging, and taking pictures around particular benches. I will never know who they were and if in fact they knew the name carved into the metal but I found myself praying over and over again for their comfort. I noticed one gentleman in particular wandering the site taking pictures of himself with benches in the back. A few minutes later I came upon him kneeling beside the wall. It looked as if he was praying and I couldn’t help but grab a picture of the intensely powerful moment. A second later, he was up on his feet, wiped a tear away, and was off on his way.
This seemed to be how the afternoon went. As I left more people wandered in, took in the quotes and names on the wall, then surveyed the benches that dot the landscape. I have come to love this memorial. It stands beside one of the strongest and most symbolic buildings in our nation yet shows its vulnerability and pain. To many, the it is a steadfast building holding many secrets to those of us “on the outside” but this memorial not only shows us its scars, but puts names to the numbers as well. I like to think that was in part the idea. I think the designer meant to show that side of not only this building, but this city, and this nation. It takes us back to that moment in time when we were all one, vulnerable and scared. But it also reminds us of what happened in the days and weeks to come. For a brief moment in time we weren’t defined by our neighborhoods, school colors, or even party lines; we were all one in body and spirit. We were simply American’s. Walking around these grounds today took me back to those days and those feelings and reminded me of why I love this country so much.
Like I have said before, if you haven’t been to this memorial you need to visit. It will not disappoint.
From Carolina to the Capital 