On Tuesday, the 9/11 memorial grounds where American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the E-Ring facing Arlington National Cemetery will be closed to the public from 5 a.m. until noon. There, a private ceremony just for families of the victims will be held with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey.
After a small White House remembrance, President and Mrs. Obama are scheduled to visit the Pentagon memorial also, before visiting wounded troops at Walter Reed National Medical Center. But the event is pooled press, preventing a mass of cameras.
For the "Pentagon community" of easily 25,000 people in the building, many who were there in 2001, Panetta later will say a few remarks at 2pm in the Pentagon courtyard. Last year, just a few hundred gathered quietly outside or watched from the five floors of window encircling the green. Tens of thousands more carried on about the business of the Defense Department, as if it were any other day. This year, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. James Winnefeld and Director of Administration and Management Michael L. Rhodes will attend.
There's never been much flash to the stoic Pentagon -- really just a glorified office building far from Washington's grand monuments, where civilians and military officers do their jobs and head for home. But perhaps last year's 10-year anniversary even turned a page even in New York City. This year, no politicians are being allowed to speak at Ground Zero. This year, only the families' voices will be heard.
By Kevin Baron
The E-Ring (e-ring.foreignpolicy.com)
September 10, 2012