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
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
ID Number
2010.0066.03
catalog number
2010.0066.03
accession number
2010.0066
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
ID Number
2012.3069.01
nonaccession number
2012.3069
catalog number
2012.3069.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1999
ID Number
2005.0020.05
accession number
2005.0020
catalog number
2005.0020.05
This computer monitor, serial number 10C41000565, was part of a collection of equipment and personal possessions recovered from the wreckage of the Pentagon after the September 11 attack.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This computer monitor, serial number 10C41000565, was part of a collection of equipment and personal possessions recovered from the wreckage of the Pentagon after the September 11 attack.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Toshiba Corporation
ID Number
2002.0279.02
accession number
2002.0279
serial number
10C41000565
catalog number
2002.0279.02
This commercially produced desk ornament of a baseball mounted on an engraved base was recovered from the damaged offices of the Pentagon. Reflecting a popular American attitude, the desk ornament is inscribed: “Sometimes you just have to play hardball.”Currently not on view
Description
This commercially produced desk ornament of a baseball mounted on an engraved base was recovered from the damaged offices of the Pentagon. Reflecting a popular American attitude, the desk ornament is inscribed: “Sometimes you just have to play hardball.”
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2002.0279.17
accession number
2002.0279
catalog number
2002.0279.17
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
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2002.0279.20
accession number
2002.0279
catalog number
2002.0279.20
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
This material from Capt. David Thomas, Pentagon survivor and rescuer, includes his uniform trousers, shirt, undershirt, and two quarters.Currently not on view
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
2002.0297.02
accession number
2002.0297
catalog number
2002.0297.02
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 is Charlie Falkenberg's luggage tag, which he carried as a passenger onboard American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This is Charlie Falkenberg's luggage tag, which he carried as a passenger onboard American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2005.0019.04
accession number
2005.0019
catalog number
2005.0019.04
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2002.0279.15
accession number
2002.0279
catalog number
2002.0279.15
This computer mouse, serial number C4103A, was part of a collection of equipment and personal possessions recovered from the wreckage of the Pentagon after the September 11 attack.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This computer mouse, serial number C4103A, was part of a collection of equipment and personal possessions recovered from the wreckage of the Pentagon after the September 11 attack.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Hewlett-Packard Company
Hewlett-Packard
ID Number
2002.0279.01
model number
9921
maker number
3872H166
accession number
2002.0279
serial number
C4103A
catalog number
2002.0279.01
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
Date made
1999
ID Number
2005.0020.03
accession number
2005.0020
catalog number
2005.0020.03
Description: This soot-covered desktop nameplate and Army pennant were recovered from Holly Guzowski’s Pentagon office.Context: Holly Guzowski, a civilian employee of the Department of Defense, survived the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.
Description
Description: This soot-covered desktop nameplate and Army pennant were recovered from Holly Guzowski’s Pentagon office.
Context: Holly Guzowski, a civilian employee of the Department of Defense, survived the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. Her 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. In the Pentagon attack, 125 employees were killed and some 140 more were injured; aboard the plane, all 53 passengers, six crew members, and five hijackers were killed.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2002.0277.01
accession number
2002.0277
This material from Capt. David Thomas, Pentagon survivor and rescuer, includes his uniform trousers, shirt, undershirt, and two quarters.Currently not on view
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
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2002.0279.18
accession number
2002.0279
catalog number
2002.0279.18
This uniform was worn by Col. Mark Volk, Chief, Strategic Leadership division, Office of the Army, during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.Currently not on view
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
This uniform was worn by Col. Mark Volk, Chief, Strategic Leadership division, Office of the Army, during the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.Currently not on view
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
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
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
REI Kids
ID Number
2005.0019.05
accession number
2005.0019
catalog number
2005.0019.05

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