The National September 11 Collection

The collections we present on this site represent a work in progress. Early collections embody the best efforts of staff across the National Museum of American History to document and preserve a wide range of stories about September 11. Recent collecting efforts have integrated a more collaborative community-based approach to find underrepresented and unknown stories. Each object, as material evidence of the attacks and their immediate aftermath, is a piece of a large and complex story. The collections will grow as we gain historical perspective and a greater understanding of the events of September 11.
La Colección Nacional 11 de Septiembre
La colección que presentamos en este sitio es una obra en progreso. Las primeras recopilaciones plasman los mejores esfuerzos del personal del Museo Nacional de Historia Americana por documentar y preservar una amplia gama de relatos acerca del 11 de septiembre. Los esfuerzos de colección recientes han integrado un enfoque más colaborativo, de base comunitaria, en busca de historias desconocidas o poco representadas. Cada objeto, como evidencia material de los ataques y su secuela inmediata, es un pedazo de una historia larga y compleja. Las colecciones crecerán a medida que ampliemos la perspectiva histórica y la comprensión de los eventos.


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Defense Protective Services uniform
- Description
- This material from Officer Isaac Hoopii includes his uniform (shirt with insignia, trousers, boots, and name tag), his shield, his dog Vitos collar and shield, a K-9 patch, and a poster of Vito.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- user
- Hoopii, Isaac J.
- ID Number
- 2002.0272.04
- accession number
- 2002.0272
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Pentagon rescuer's uniform
- Description
- This material from Capt. David Thomas, Pentagon survivor and rescuer, includes his uniform trousers, shirt, undershirt, and two quarters.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2002.0297.03
- accession number
- 2002.0297
- catalog number
- 2002.0297.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
American flag recovered from the World Trade Center
- Description
- Description: This badly damaged American flag was found by a recovery worker in the World Trade Center debris at the Staten Island recovery site.
- Context: The dominant symbol to emerge from the September 11 tragedy was the American flag. Raised over the World Trade Center ruins and hung from the damaged Pentagon, the flag became a powerful symbol of patriotism, survival, and resilience. Many Americans, who at one time had rejected overt displays of patriotism, returned to flying the flag at home, at work, even from their cars. The shared symbolism of the meaning of the flag helped unite Americans in a time of crisis. Only a few American flags from the World Trade Center survived the attacks of September 11, 2001.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- associated date
- 2002 - 09 through 2006
- ID Number
- 2003.0007.01
- accession number
- 2003.0007
- catalog number
- 2003.0007.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Clothing Tag, Zoe Falkenberg
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- REI Kids
- ID Number
- 2005.0019.05
- accession number
- 2005.0019
- catalog number
- 2005.0019.05
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Lisa Lefler's Briefcase
- Description
- Description: This briefcase recovered from the World Trade Center wreckage belonged to Lisa Lefler, an Aon Risk Services employee.
- Context: World Trade Center workers had varied experiences on September 11. While about 2,200 office workers were killed, over 20,000 managed to escape the Twin Towers.
- When the first plane struck the north tower, Lisa Lefler, an Aon Risk Services executive, immediately evacuated her 103rd-floor office in the south tower. In her haste she left her briefcase behind. Seventeen minutes after the north tower was hit the south tower was struck, cutting off the escape path above the 78th floor. Fifty-six minutes later, the entire building collapsed, killing 175 of Lefler's fellow Aon employees.
- Several days later, Boyd Harden, a rescue worker at Ground Zero, found the briefcase in the debris and returned it to Lefler.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- user
- Lefler, Lisa
- maker
- Heritage
- ID Number
- 2002.0053.01
- accession number
- 2002.0053
- catalog number
- 2002.0053.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Recovery Team Sweatshirt
- Location
- Currently not on view
- user
- Marx, Richard
- ID Number
- 2002.0057.08
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Desk calendar
- Description
- Description: This M&M dispenser, soot-covered calendar, and desk copy of the U.S. Army code were recovered from the Pentagon office of Charles A. Reimer, Deputy Division Chief, Strategic Leadership, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff Operations/Army G-3.
- Context: Charles Reimer, a civilian employee for the Department of Defense, survived the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. His office was on the third floor of the D ring (the E ring is the exterior), and was directly above the path of the airplane as it slid through the first and second floors of E, D, and C rings. As flames shot up past the windows and the area filled with smoke, he helped a fellow worker escape from the building. In the Pentagon attack, 125 employees were killed and 140 were injured; on board the airplane, all 53 passengers, six crew members, and five hijackers were killed.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 2001
- maker
- Gulfstream
- ID Number
- 2002.0276.02
- accession number
- 2002.0276
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
USS Kilauea
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- New Era
- ID Number
- 2002.0279.06
- accession number
- 2002.0279
- catalog number
- 2002.0279.06
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Singed postage stamps
- Description
- These singed U.S. postage stamps were recovered from a damaged office at the Pentagon.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2002.0279.12
- accession number
- 2002.0279
- catalog number
- 2002.0279.12
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
$1 Bill
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2002.0279.14
- accession number
- 2002.0279
- catalog number
- 2002.0279.14
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Electrical Power Cord
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2002.0279.18
- accession number
- 2002.0279
- catalog number
- 2002.0279.18
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Pentagon rescuer's uniform and citation
- Description
- This uniform was worn by Col. Mark Volk, Chief, Strategic Leadership division, Office of the Army, during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2002.0280.02
- accession number
- 2002.0280
- catalog number
- 2002.0280.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
9/11 Airplane Electronics Box
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2004.0142.25
- accession number
- 2004.0142
- catalog number
- 2004.0142.25
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Harvard University ID Card
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1999
- ID Number
- 2004.0299.02
- accession number
- 2004.0299
- catalog number
- 2004.0299.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Commemorative coin
- Description
- Description: This boxed commemorative coin (issued earlier as recognition for a job well done) was recovered from the damaged Pentagon office of Maj. Warren Hoy.
- Context: Maj. Warren Hoy was a survivor of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. His office was on the third floor of the D ring (the E ring is the exterior), and was directly above the path of the airplane as it slid through the first and second floors of E, D, and C rings. As the area filled with smoke, he helped an injured fellow worker escape from the building. In the Pentagon attack, 125 employees were killed and 140 were injured; on board the airplane, all 53 passengers, six crew members, and five hijackers were killed.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2002.0273.01
- accession number
- 2002.0273
- catalog number
- 2002.0273.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Pentagon rescuer's uniform and citation
- Description
- This uniform was worn by Col. Mark Volk, Chief, Strategic Leadership division, Office of the Army, during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2002.0280.01
- accession number
- 2002.0280
- catalog number
- 2002.0280.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Ironworker's Torch
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2002.0054.14
- accession number
- 2002.0054
- catalog number
- 2002.0054.14
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Vito's collar and shield
- Description
- This material from Officer Isaac Ho'opi'i includes his uniform (shirt with insignia, trousers, boots, and name tag), his shield, his dog Vito's collar and shield, a K-9 patch, and a poster of Vito.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- user
- Hoopii, Isaac J.
- ID Number
- 2002.0272.05
- accession number
- 2002.0272
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Pentagon helipad clock
- Description
- Description: This Skilcraft electric wall clock, which hung in the Pentagon helipad fire station, was knocked to the ground by the impact of American Airlines flight 77 crashing into the Pentagon.
- Context: When terrorists flew American Airlines flight 77 into the Pentagon, the crash nearly took the nearby Pentagon helipad firehouse with it. The concussion caused the ceiling of the firehouse to collapse, temporarily trapping firefighter Dennis Young in the fallen debris. The blast also knocked this clock from the wall, freezing it at 9:32. The airplane actually struck the Pentagon at 9:38 am; apparently the clock was six minutes slow.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 2000
- maker
- Skilcraft, The Chicago Lighthouse
- ID Number
- 2002.0278.01
- accession number
- 2002.0278
- catalog number
- 2002.0278.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Pentagon rescuer's uniform and citation
- Description
- This uniform was worn by Col. Mark Volk, Chief, Strategic Leadership division, Office of the Army, during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2002.0280.03
- accession number
- 2002.0280
- catalog number
- 2002.0280.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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- Political and Military History: Armed Forces History, 9/11 355
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