Locals visit new 9-11 Memorial at the Pentagon

A group of Grand Strand veterans, in Washington D.C. over the weekend to visit various war memorials, took time out of its journey Sunday morning to visit a new memorial to those who lost their lives in one of this country’s darkest hours.

On the side of the Pentagon that a plane smashed into on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, killing more than 180 people on the plane and in the building, artists developed a unique memorial to the dead.

It opened recently, and as you look toward the Pentagon, the names visible on the individual benches are those of victims killed inside the building; when you turn around and look out into the horizon, the names you can read on the ends of the benches are those of the victims aboard the airplane that morning.

“I’m glad we came here (this morning),“ said Jennifer DeBock, a teacher at St. James High School who accompanied students on the trip from South Carolina.

“If this wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have understood how many people (died). You know, when you see this representation, it really puts it into perspective.“