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.

9/11 Oppenheimer Funds Managment Corporation Business Cards

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2002.0380.01
accession number
2002.0380
catalog number
2002.0380.02

Postcard

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

Flight 93 Seat Belt

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2004.0142.15
accession number
2004.0142
catalog number
2004.0142.15

State of Maryland Driver's Licence

Date made
1999
ID Number
2005.0020.03
accession number
2005.0020
catalog number
2005.0020.03

World Trade Center Key Chain Ornament

Currently on loan
Location
Currently on loan
ID Number
2002.0238.10
accession number
2002.0238

Lorraine Lee Wallet

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

Ironworker's Shoes

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2002.0054.02
accession number
2002.0054
catalog number
2002.0054.02

Desk plaque and pennant from Pentagon

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

Firefighter Doll, Female

Description: This doll caricature of a female firefighter was recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center.Context: A popular tourist destination and retail space, the World Trade Center had many stores.
Description
Description: This doll caricature of a female firefighter was recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Context: A popular tourist destination and retail space, the World Trade Center had many stores. On the observation deck located on the 107th floor of the south tower were three souvenir shops, and in the underground arcade connecting the towers was a mall with over 70 shops. While the identity of the store that was selling this toy remains a mystery, the doll itself is a sad reminder of the many rescue workers who perished in the towers’ collapse
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2002.0238.08
accession number
2002.0238

Pentagon rescuer's uniform

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

Electrical Power Cord

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2002.0279.18
accession number
2002.0279
catalog number
2002.0279.18

Pentagon rescuer's uniform and citation

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

Pentagon rescuer's uniform and citation

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

Desk calendar

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

Clothing Tag, Zoe Falkenberg

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

Commemorative coin

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.
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

Defense Protective Services uniform

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.Currently not on view
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
2002.0272.04
accession number
2002.0272

Recovery Team Sweatshirt

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
user
Marx, Richard
ID Number
2002.0057.08

USS Kilauea

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
New Era
ID Number
2002.0279.06
accession number
2002.0279
catalog number
2002.0279.06

9/11 Airplane Electronics Box

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2004.0142.25
accession number
2004.0142
catalog number
2004.0142.25

Harvard University ID Card

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1999
ID Number
2004.0299.02
accession number
2004.0299
catalog number
2004.0299.02

American flag recovered from the World Trade Center

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

Lisa Lefler's Briefcase

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.
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

$1 Bill

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2002.0279.14
accession number
2002.0279
catalog number
2002.0279.14

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