Pentagon Memorial Debuts

The Pentagon Memorial Park, dedicated Sept. 11, 2008, has 184 benches, each bearing the name of a victim. An illuminated reflection pool is below each bench. The memorial was designed by Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman, a married couple that founded the architectural design firm KBAS. Approximately 85 paperbark maples are dispersed in the park, which grow out of a gravel field. A containment mat below the top layer of gravel helps stabilize the gravel and allows rainwater to percolate down to the tree roots. The mat system is flexible and will spread as the trees grow. An underground irrigation system is also in place for those dry spells.
Defense Dept. photo by John J. Kruzel

Sept. 11, 2008 was a day to inaugurate the Pentagon’s Memorial to the victims of 9/11. President Bush was on hand to give a speech at the dedication ceremony attended by about 16,000 people. After his speech, uniformed men and women from all the services who stood at attention behind each bench pulled off the royal blue covers from the 184 benches.

Elsewhere, on Sept. 11, 2008, Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain were at ground zero in NYC, which is still in the early stages of construction. The candidates eschewed for the moment their relentless campaign efforts to drop some roses into the memorial pool.

At the entrance of the two-acre Pentagon Memorial Park is a plaque inscribed with the names of the 59 people aboard American Airlines Flight 77 and the 125 in the Pentagon who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
Defense Dept. photo by John J. Kruzel

Services were also held in Shanksville, Penn., the infamous crash site of United Airlines Flight 93.

The Pentagon Memorial Park was designed by Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman of the architectural firm KBAS. The couple met at Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). They graduated in 2001, married and then formed a business partnership. Kaseman is also an adjunct associate professor at Columbia’s GSAPP.