Memorials close to home

This morning R and I rose early and walked to the Pentagon Memorial. It's a somber reminder of 9/11 outside of New York, and honors the 184 people, aged 3 to 71, who died when terrorists took control of American Airlines Flight 77 and flew it into the Pentagon. It's a beautifully simplistic design - each person is represented by a marble bench, with the benches arranged in such a way that when you read the name engraved on the bench you are facing either toward the Pentagon (signifying the person was in the building at the time of the attack) or away from the Pentagon (signifying that the person was on the plane).

The date and time the plane hit the Pentagon.

We continued our walk and went to the Air Force Memorial, about a mile away. I love this memorial. It's so dramatic, and perfectly represents the Air Force. From www.airforcememorial.org:

The Memorial itself is 270 feet high and appears to be soaring. Its array of arcs against the sky evokes a modern image of flight by jet and space vehicles. At the same time, it enshrines the past in permanent remembrance of the pioneers of flight who came before, and pays homage to those of the future.

And from Wikipedia:

The three memorial spires range from 201 feet (61 m) to 270 feet (82 m) high and appear to be soaring; its array of stainless steel arcs against the sky evoke the image of "contrails  of the Air Force Thunderbirds as they peel back in a precision 'bomb burst' maneuver." Only three of the four contrails are depicted, at 120 degrees from each other, as the absent fourth suggests the missing man formation traditionally used at Air Force funeral fly-overs. 

If you look closely, you can see a jet taking off from Reagan National Airport.
(Toward the bottom of the clouds on the left side.)

Teeny tiny Washington Monument on the left.

It almost looks like the ocean. Or space.

High Flight
John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
- Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

John Denver's version.