Pentagon Memorial Set to be Unveiled

Memorial Ceremony Will Honor Victims of September 11, 2001 Attacks

Aug 26, 2008

In a few weeks, the United States Defense Department will dedicate a memorial to the airline and Pentagon victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

A memorial dedicated to the passengers of American Airlines flight 77 who died at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 is set to be unveiled the morning of the seventh anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history.

The September 11 dedication ceremony, which will be hosted by the Honorable Robert M. Gates, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, is an invitation only / ticketed event. Ceremony activities are set to begin at 8 a.m., with seating beginning two hours earlier at 6 a.m. The entire ceremony is scheduled to last for two hours.

The Pentagon came under attack seven years ago after al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners in a terrorist strike that sparked the United States’ Global War on Terrorism. Two of the commercial airliners were crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, bringing about their collapse.

A third airliner crashed in a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against their terrorist hijackers. American Airlines flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon. More than 3,000 people were killed in the deadliest terrorist ever conducted on American soil.

The new Pentagon memorial is located at the southwestern corner of the building. It is made up of nearly 200 individual memorial pieces representing the passengers on American Airlines flight 77 and the personnel working in the Pentagon who were killed that day. The individual memorials are located in a collective field and organized from the youngest victim to the oldest.

The Pentagon describes the site as follows: “The simple but elegant memorial units are at once a glowing light pool, a cantilevered bench and a place for permanent inscription of each victim’s name.”

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, President Bush ordered the United States military to launch a global war on terrorism that started with an invasion of Afghanistan, where the Taliban held power and where Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda found safe haven.

After the October 2001 assault on Afghanistan, the United States turned its attention to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq while the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) took over the mission in the former al Qaeda stronghold.

In March 2003, the United States led a coalition invasion of Iraq that toppled Hussein’s Ba’athist government in just a few weeks. As part of a larger, global effort, the United States has assisted with counterterrorism efforts in the Philippines, Georgia, Europe, Somalia, and many other nations.

The copyright of the article Pentagon Memorial Set to be Unveiled in American Affairs is owned by Greg Reeson. Permission to republish Pentagon Memorial Set to be Unveiled in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.