If you ever visit Washington, D.C., I highly recommend visiting the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon. When I went this spring, I was captivated. The memorial is simple, but beautiful. There are rows of benches balanced over small reflecting pools, and when the sunlight hits the water, it reflects up onto the supports of the benches to create the illusion of flames. Each bench has a name engraved on the end of a victim of 9/11 at the Pentagon. The benches are arranged in rows, according to the age of the person who died, and are also arranged as to whether the person died in the Pentagon or on the plane. I was surprised to find out there were several children on board the plane, I believe it was one toddler and a few sixth graders headed to a national writing contest. Also, there was a person in a car in the parking lot in front of the pentagon, which the plane hit on the way into the Pentagon.
While man has agency to do according to his desires, I believe God is watching out and moving in ways to prevent, or lighten, the harm to others from wicked choices. For example:
At the time of the crash, the Pentagon was undergoing renovations to strengthen its walls. The site where the plane crashed was one of the few areas that reinforcement had been completed. If it weren't for this reinforcement, the damage could have been far worse.
On the way into the Pentagon, the plane hit either a power pole or telephone pole (I can't remember exactly) which slowed down its momentum and caused it to veer slightly.
A cousin showing us the memorial told us a captivating story: There used to be a DMV office in the Pentagon where people could go and get their licenses and tags renewed. It was located very near the point the plane crashed. A friend of my cousin got home from a trip and needed to get his license plate renewed, and so he drove over to the Pentagon on September 11th. When he got to the parking lot, he could not remember why he had came. After racking his brain, he finally drove away. About a mile out, he saw the plane hit the Pentagon.
When they rebuilt the Pentagon, they built in a lovely multi-faith chapel in the spot the plane hit. It is a place of peace and memory for all who were effected by the tragedy. May we ever remember the victims and heroes of 9/11. May God Bless America.
