The U.S. military has a long tradition of creating special coins and medallions to recognize special service, give away to visiting dignitaries, or honor other contributions. For the October 11, 2001, memorial event at the Pentagon, the Secretary of Defense commissioned C. Forbes, Inc., to design and produce these commemorative medallions and pins to honor those lost and injured in the September 11 attack on the Pentagon.
Tuesday, September 11. What many woke up to thinking it would be just another run of the mill day at the office, soon realized that they had woke up to hell. At 8:46 AM, a commercial aircraft ran into the North Tower. By 9:03, when the second plane hit, many people were watching the news, and saw the plane hit on live television. This photograph shows the eerily intact desk with everything in order and pristine, save for the thick level of grey debris over everything.
New York Daily News Photographer Susan Watts was on her way to photograph the New York Mayoral Primary Elections when she heard a plane had hit the World Trade Center. She was amongst those running away from the towers as they turned from pillars of steel to pillars of smoke, photographing the entire process. She narrowly escaped as the building collapsed, and eventually avoided physical harm. Watts is currently still working for New York Daily News.
This printed program is from a concert given by Jenny Lind at the Castle Garden in New York City on September 11, 1850. The cover features the portraits of Jenny Lind, promoter P.T. Barnum, baritone Giovani Belletti, and pianist, arranger and conductor Jules Benedict.
Johanna Maria “Jenny” Lind (1820-1887) was a Swedish soprano, famously known as the "Swedish Nightingale." She was one of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century. American showman P. T. Barnum contracted Lind to undertake a concert tour throughout the United States beginning in 1850. Lind terminated her contract with Barnum amicably in 1851 and continued to tour for nearly a year under her own management.
Advance publicity created such a demand for concert tickets that Barnum sold them at auction. Throughout the tour, popular frenzy for Jenny Lind tickets and merchandise created “Lindomania” raising large sums of money for Lind and Barnum. Lind donated much of her profits to charitable causes.
Description: This commemorative pamphlet, published by the Christian Embassy, was distributed at Washington, D.C., subway stations.
Context: In a democratic society, national events like September 11 provide opportunities for public discourse. Following the terrorist attacks, many organizations published commemorative tracts to offer support and subtly promote their cause. This pamphlet was issued by the Christian Embassy, a nondenominational ministry based in Washington, D.C. It includes messages from President George W. Bush, Darrell Scott (whose daughter was killed in the Columbine High School shooting), and evangelist Billy Graham.
The now familiar gray screening trays were designed by the TSA in 2002. Similar objects of varying size and color had previously existed at security checkpoints, but the gray bins were an innovation by the TSA to make security more uniform. These bins were used at security checkpoints at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in 2002.
This 3 1/2" diskette contains the text used for the September 11 Witness Story page on the NMAH website.
Web designer David McOwen, a member of the New Media Office at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, used these materials when designing sections of the NMAH website.
The entire Smithsonian website is preserved by the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
