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.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
2001-09-11
ID Number
2015.0067.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
2001-09-11
ID Number
2015.0067.03
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
2001-09-11
ID Number
2015.0067.02
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
circa 2001
ID Number
2009.0195.01
catalog number
2009.0195.01
accession number
2009.0195
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
2001-09-11
ID Number
2015.0067.05
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2001-09-11
ID Number
2016.0118.1
accession number
2016.0118
catalog number
2016.0118.1
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2003
ID Number
2016.0222.1
accession number
2016.0222
catalog number
2016.0222.1
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
circa October 2001-November 2001
c. October 2001 to November 2001
maker
Tiffany & Co.
ID Number
2009.0196.01
accession number
2009.0196
catalog number
2009.0196.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
2001-09-11
maker
Salvation Army
ID Number
2015.0067.04
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
2001-09-11
ID Number
2015.0067.06
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
2001-09-11
ID Number
2015.0067.07
accession number
2015.0067
catalog number
2015.0067.07
This collection of commemorative material includes two cased medallions and a lapel pin.Currently not on view
Description
This collection of commemorative material includes two cased medallions and a lapel pin.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2002
maker
C. Forbes, Inc.
ID Number
2003.0109.05
accession number
2003.0109
catalog number
2003.0109.05
Description: Penny Elgas built a patriotic box to preserve this piece of American Airlines Flight 77, the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.Context: Driving on a highway adjacent to the Pentagon on the morning of September 11, Penny Elgas stopped as she saw a passenger jet des
Description
Description: Penny Elgas built a patriotic box to preserve this piece of American Airlines Flight 77, the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
Context: Driving on a highway adjacent to the Pentagon on the morning of September 11, Penny Elgas stopped as she saw a passenger jet descend, clip a light pole near her, and then crash into the Pentagon. Arriving home, Elgas found this plane fragment in the back seat of her car (she theorizes that it dropped through the open sunroof). Feeling that it was her patriotic duty to preserve the fragment as a relic, she crafted a special box and lined it with red, white, and blue material.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2001
maker
Elgas, G. Penny
ID Number
2003.0058.01
accession number
2003.0058
catalog number
2003.0058.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2001
maker
Glaser, Milton
ID Number
2004.0300.03
accession number
2004.0300
catalog number
2004.0300.03
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2000
ID Number
2004.0267.01
accession number
2004.0267
catalog number
2004.0267.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2002
maker
C. Forbes, Inc.
ID Number
2003.0109.06
accession number
2003.0109
catalog number
2003.0109.06
This handwritten post card was sent by Leslie Whittington and family at Dulles Airport prior to their departure on American Airlines Flight 77 that was hijacked into the Pentagon. The postcard was cancelled on September 12, 2001.
Description (Brief)
This handwritten post card was sent by Leslie Whittington and family at Dulles Airport prior to their departure on American Airlines Flight 77 that was hijacked into the Pentagon. The postcard was cancelled on September 12, 2001. The message on the reverse was addressed to her sister.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2000
ID Number
2005.0020.08
accession number
2005.0020
catalog number
2005.0020.08
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2000
maker
Donna Karan
ID Number
2004.0267.02
accession number
2004.0267
catalog number
2004.0267.02
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.
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
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.
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
Transcript: POLICE SEMPER VOLANIS DEFENSE PROTECTIVE SERVICE 1987 DEFENSE PROTECTIVE SERVICE K-9 Division "Vito"Currently not on view
Description
Transcript: POLICE SEMPER VOLANIS DEFENSE PROTECTIVE SERVICE 1987 DEFENSE PROTECTIVE SERVICE K-9 Division "Vito"
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2002
ID Number
2002.3073.01
nonaccession number
2002.3073
catalog number
2002.3073.01
This collection of commemorative material includes two cased medallions and a lapel pin.Currently not on view
Description
This collection of commemorative material includes two cased medallions and a lapel pin.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2002
maker
C. Forbes, Inc.
ID Number
2003.0109.02
accession number
2003.0109
catalog number
2003.0109.02
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2001
maker
Maniilaq Association
ID Number
2002.0236.02
catalog number
2002.0236.02
accession number
2002.0236
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2001
maker
Elbeco Inc.
ID Number
2002.0309.02
accession number
2002.0309
catalog number
2002.0309.02

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