“On the day of the two-year anniversary I stood right in the window where the plane had hit,” junior David Roberts recalled. “Instead, I was looking at the stained glass window we placed in the chapel that week.”
David and his father Dennis Roberts designed and placed all five of the stained glass windows in the Pentagon’s memorial chapel to honor the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The main window behind the altar was designed in 2002 by 400 United States Army chaplains and chaplain assistants lead by Dennis’ team at a conference in South Carolina. Dennis’ company donated the piece to the U.S. Army, and created a design template where each chaplain had the chance to place a piece on the the window and then keep one as a memorial keepsake.
“Some of the very chaplains who ministered to the grieving families and their loved ones on Sept. 11 put this window together by hand,” Dennis said. “This was a tribute to honor those men and women who lost their lives in service to their country.”
Dennis served in the Marine Corps for eight years, and worked for Pan-American airlines before stumbling into the design industry. He has designed stained glass windows for churches and chapels since 1982. After reluctantly agreeing to create a stained glass window for a local glass company, he was asked to do more work because of his beautiful craftsmanship. The majority of his work is for local churches and chapels, but the highlight of his career was being able to honor the victims of the attacks. When he designed the glass window, he had no idea it would one day sit in the Pentagon.
“We donated all the pieces and offered this as a free opportunity for the U.S. Army chaplain conference,” Dennis said. “We had done similar team building events for other conferences before, but nothing as emotional as this.”
The piece showcases a colorful display of the American flag, a bald eagle, and the Pentagon.
The phrase “United In Memory” decorates the top of the glass.
“There are 184 red pieces circling the design,” David explained. “One for each of the victims from the attack.”
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld commissioned that an official chapel be built on the Flight 77 impact sight of the Pentagon, and David and Dennis were hired to add four more windows to compliment the main one created in 2002. Prior to the attacks, religious services were held in the cafeteria, the creation of a chapel would be a historical addition and an eternal monument to the United States Military.
A week before the two-year anniversary and chapel dedication, David and Dennis were granted special access to work on their designs in the Pentagon. They created four patriotic windows of eagles and flags to line the right side of the chapel. David and Dennis Roberts had several members of the their company, as well as special military visitors, help assemble the pieces.
“We invited anyone who had lost loved ones to come and lay a piece in the design,” Dennis said.
Top military personnel were in attendance in the ceremony, as well as Secretary Rumsfeld, Vice President Richard Cheney, and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. After accepting a flag that was flown in front of the Pentagon during the attacks on behalf of the Department of Defense, Rumsfeld spoke on the work done in the chapel.
Rumsfeld publicly thanked Dennis Roberts, “for helping to create a place of beauty and a place of peace.”
“It was a huge honor and the biggest opportunity our company has ever had,” Dennis said. “Creating these pieces was a moving experience.”