WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lights shone serenely through the early evening darkness, illuminating benches in the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial as a group of nine students crowded up to windows inside an office in the colossal building.
Looking out on Arlington, Virginia, Career Services Executive Director Michael Murray described the flight path of American Airlines Flight 77, which al-Qaida terrorists deliberately crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Dressed in a tan Marine utility uniform, Murray held an enlarged photograph of the burning wreckage.
“This flag right here,” he said, gesturing to a flag in the office, “is in the same place as that flag in the photo. So as you can see, we’re standing not too far from the point of impact.”
Murray served for seven years in active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps, and deployed to Iraq in 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now in the Marine Reserves, he works at the Pentagon to fulfill reserve duties.
Students of the Washington Hillsdale Internship Program visited the Pentagon for a tour with Murray last Thursday evening. Instead of walking quickly with a guide through crowded hallways as tourists would, Murray led the group through corridors filled with U.S. military history after hours.
The group walked a circuit through the building, visiting the courtyard and memorial chapel, and walking by the office of the Secretary of the Navy. They also perused exhibits about the military’s involvement in disaster relief and U.S. presidents who served as military commanders, among others.
While in the halls of the Defense Intelligence Agency, students got to see a gold-plated AK-47 that once belonged to Saddam Hussein. The gun is displayed alongside a set of Iraqi Most Wanted playing cards, developed by U.S. military to help troops identify members of Hussein’s government during the invasion of Iraq.
Students said standing in an office torn down by the 9/11 attacks was, without a doubt, the most moving experience.
The office belongs to Robert D. Hogue, the counsel for the commandant of the United States Marine Corps — for whom Murray now works when at the Pentagon. On the morning of the attack, Hogue was in the suite, but not in his private office. Standing near the suite door, he was thrown approximately 15 feet from the impact of the plane.
Since most students were younger than 10 years old in 2001, the trip allowed them to see the impact of the attacks in a new and valuable way.
“Seeing the intricacies of the 9/11 memorial with the lights and the chapel gave a wonderful perspective of the effect the attack had on the Pentagon,” sophomore Emily DePangher said. “And how quickly the military rebuilt and revitalized.”
