Pentagon September 11 Groundbreaking Coincidence

On September 11, 1941, the U.S. War Department held the groundbreaking ceremony for the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Exactly 60 years later, on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building on the anniversary of that first shovel of dirt. At the time of the attack, the Pentagon was nearing the end of a major renovation, and the plane hit a section that had recently been reinforced and partly emptied for construction. Nearly 200 people died, but the upgraded structure and blast-resistant windows helped prevent the death toll from climbing even higher.

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