Installation of the 'Valor Plaque' in the Renovated Pentagon - 2002-06-12

Workers assigned to the reconstruction of the damaged section of the Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Defense building, installed the 'Valor Plaque' in the renovated facade of this building, thus making a memorial of one of the September 11 attacks a permanent part of the central building of the U.S. Department of Defense. Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, unveiled the bronze plaque in a ceremony in front of the Department of Defense on Tuesday, nine months after the day when hijackers crashed their stolen airplane into a part of the Department of Defense building. This plaque lists the names of 125 individuals who were killed at the Department of Defense, along with the names of 59 passengers who lost their lives during the hijacking. The names of the five hijackers are not included in this list. Mr. Wolfowitz praised the workers' efforts in reconstructing the building's facade, stating that their work helped heal the American nation. A piece of blackened granite, scorched by the fire, inscribed with the date of the dark day of September 11, 2001, was also installed in the renovated Department of Defense, marking the location of the bronze plaque.