Pentagon Memorial

On New Year's Day, I visited the Pentagon Memorial with assorted friends and family. Having heard reference to this particular artifact many a time in school, it was most rewarding to experience it firsthand. By the time we had arrived, the sun had retreated and the cloudy sky had begun to drizzle, so we were actually rather tentative about our visit. However, I was not interested in letting this opportunity pass up, so we pressed onward.

And a worthy decision it was. I'll include some photos for your viewing pleasure, but I think the dreary weather added to the ambience of the experience. The plaza was a little desolate and a little eerie, which added to the unearthliness of the benches. Some of the details of the memorial may have otherwise gone unnoticed in the nighttime, were it not for the rain. The rows of benches (each bench designated for a particular victim, arranged in rows based upon birth year) are further articulated by metal strips in the gravel. These metal strips extend throughout the plaza and might have otherwise gone somewhat unnoticed had their rain-covered surface not reflected twinkles of light across its surface. Maybe you can see what I mean in these photos.

Anyway, I think it was a great experience in the night time, and I can imagine the plaza to be more joyous and full of life in the summer. I think it's a worthy trip, perhaps experienced both in light and in dark. I'd like to check it out in the daytime sometime to see some more details and read the name tags associated with each bench.

Here you can see a marking of a birth year.

Sort of an overall view of the Memorial area when you first enter.

The Memorial with the Pentagon in the background.

If you click on this one and get the big image you can kind of see the reflectance of the metal tracks I'm talking about.