Pentagon plans 9/11 education center for younger generations

Twentyfive years after the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. memorial leaders are focusing on how to teach the event to Americans with no direct memory of it. The Pentagon is preparing to break ground on a Visitor Education Center at the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, which is the only 9/11 attack site that still does not have a dedicated museum or education center. Officials say the project is meant to help younger visitors understand what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, and why it remains significant. Joseph Kornhoff of the Pentagon Memorial Fund said many Americans were either not born yet or were too young to remember the attacks, leaving them without the personal connection that shaped earlier generations. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York is also working to address the shift from living memory to historical study. Museum leaders say the challenge now includes countering misinformation and conspiracy theories online with factual education. The Pentagon center is planned to feature exhibits on the 184 people killed at the Pentagon and aboard American Airlines Flight 77, first responders, and those who helped the wounded. The center is expected to open by the end of 2029 and is being funded through federal money, state support, and private donations.