Manassas Museum marks 15th anniversary of 9/11 with new exhibit for locals, veterans who served in Iraq & Afghanistan

A new exhibit at the Manassas Museum will commemorate the 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and at the Pentagon in Arlington.

The show “Manassas Remembers 9/11” will feature a collection of photographs and stories of the events that unfolded that day, with a focus on how it impacted residents of Manassas the region.

“One of the stories that were shared with us was from a man who lived in New York City at the time and now lives in Manassas, about an aunt who went to pick up her niece from middle school that day and the girl asked ‘have you seen my mom?’ It turns out the mom was at the World Trade Center, and it had been days before she spoke with her family, her car had been crushed, and she was helping with the rescue effort,” said Manassas Museum Curator Mary Helen Dellinger. “I was surprised, because this is a story that you think is going to end badly and it doesn’t.”

Dellinger is looking for more stories and photos from New York, Arlington, and from the site of the fourth plane that crashed in Shanksville, Pa. to be placed into the exhibit. The best images will be hung on the museum walls, and the best quotes from the various stories will be affixed to the walls in vinyl throughout the exhibit.

The museum recently purchased some photos of the World Trade Center following the attack, taken by the Associated Press.

“It’s a big city, and there were a lot of photographers in New York to get photos of the towers on fire,” said Dellinger.

The museum also has photos of firefighters rushing to help victims at the Pentagon, pictures of the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon, and of the iconic flag that was draped on the side of the building in the hours after the attacks.

Here is the text visitors will see at the start of the exhibition:

September 11, 2001

The events of that day devastated the nation and touched our community. Using hijacked airplanes as weapons, terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and seriously damaged the Pentagon in Arlington, VA—just thirty miles east of Manassas. A fourth plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers attacked the hijackers. In just a few short hours, thousands were killed or injured, and our nation forever changed. On the fifteenth anniversary of that unforgettable day, we look back at how those events touched our community. This is a legacy of courage, loss, patriotism and faith, wrapped now in fifteen years of reflection, as we continue to seek understanding of America’s most tragic day.

Any submitted photos or text that doesn’t make it onto the museum walls will be featured in a book in the museum.

The exhibit is part of a larger showcase that looks at veterans’ service in the wars in Iraq and Afganistan, that has been in the works for over a year. Museum staff decided to create a separate exhibition for the September 11, 2001, artifacts.

“If we had not had 911 we would not be over there [in Iraq or Afghanistan] in the first place, you could make that argument,” said Dellenger.

Manassas Remembers 9/11″ opens to the public on Friday, Sept. 9 and remains on public view through Nov. 27. The veterans’ exhibit also opens Sept. 9 and runs through February 2017.