Mothers Day at the Pentagon Memorial

I just had to blog about this experience. This made such an impact on me that I still think about it. My dearest friend lives in the DC area and with many trips over the years, there are few places that have not visited. But, I had never been to the 911 Memorial that was designed to remember the 184 people killed when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. The grey art deco style benches seem to rise from rubble are arranged by age, starting with the youngest victim, 3-year-old Dana and ending with 71-year-old John. The benches for the 59 victims on board the plane are arranged so that someone reading the name on the end of the bench will face the sky where the plane came from. The 125 benches for the victims inside the Pentagon face the opposite direction, so someone reading the name will look up and see the scar on the south facade of the Pentagon, where the jet hit that day. In the middle, I saw a women sitting alone a bench with a red rose. I stopped to talk with her and asked her if she lost some in the Pentagon. She said yes, her only daughter and she told me the story. It was heart wrenching. For healing, she volunteers at the memorial telling people about the design but on this day it was all about remembering her daughter, Samantha. Peace and goodness to all.