(Updated at 1:25 p.m. on 9/12/23) Twenty-two years ago today, at 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the west side of the Pentagon, claiming the lives of 184 people.

To honor those who died, Arlington County elected officials and public safety personnel gathered in front of the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center in Courthouse to pay tribute and observe a moment of silence.

Dozens of police, fire and rescue personnel offered an honorary salute as the Arlington County Public Safety Combined Honor Guard ceremoniously placed a wreath at the flagpoles situated in front of the county government headquarters.

During the ceremony, Arlington County Fire Department Capt. David Santini reminded attendees of the response and recovery efforts by local police and fire and rescue personnel, which lasted 20 days.

“As that work ended, the community began the healing process, and the responders intensified their efforts to prepare for a new generation of threat,” Santini said. “For the members of our military, September 11 was the beginning of a new nation unbroken over 22 years, stretching to all corners of the world.”

“Since that day, just as with every day throughout our nation’s history, these courageous men and women have answered the call of their country, sacrificing so much, and in some cases sacrificing all to protect our nation and the world from threats to our safety and security,” he continued.

Today, First Lady Jill Biden also participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, followed by an observance ceremony led by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

September 11th is forever part of who we are in Arlington. We take pause today to remember, honor and we pledge to #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/fqlkuzbmYy

— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) September 11, 2023

Cpl. Harvey Snook answered the call on 9/11 & responded to the Pentagon where he remained in the days that followed, sifting through rubble for evidence. On 1/14/16, he died as the result of cancer contracted while working in the recovery efforts. pic.twitter.com/HdAUujeLPH

— ArlingtonCountyPD (@ArlingtonVaPD) September 11, 2023

Several roads in Pentagon City and Rosslyn will be temporarily closed this Saturday for the Arlington 9/11 Memorial 5K and 2023 Rosslyn Jazz Fest.

While jazz enthusiasts sway to soulful tunes, just a few miles away, emergency responders will be lacing up their running shoes for the Arlington Police, Fire, Sheriff, & ECC 9/11 Memorial 5K race in Pentagon City.

From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., two roads will be closed for the music festival:

• Langston Blvd, eastbound from Fort Myer Drive to N. Moore Street
• Fort Myer Drive access road, from 19th Street N. to N. Moore Street

The festival will take place from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and feature several jazz acts, including Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, Pedrito Martinez Group, Oh He Dead and DuPont Brass, as well as food trucks and games.

Road closures around the Pentagon City and Crystal City will begin at 5 p.m. to prepare for the Arlington 9/11 Memorial 5K, which has raised money for 9/11-related charities since its inception in 2002.

The race, which kicks off at 6 p.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m., will start and end at the DoubleTree Hotel in Pentagon City. All road closures in the area will be lifted by 8:30 p.m.

More on road closures about the 5K from a police press release:

The Arlington County Police Department will close the following roadways around the Pentagon and in Crystal City to accommodate the event:

From approximately 3:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

• Army Navy Drive, from S. Eads Street to 12th Street S.

From approximately 5:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

• S. Eads Street, from Army Navy Drive to 12th Street S.
• S. Fern Street, from Army Navy Drive to 12th Street S.
• S. Hayes Street, from Army Navy Drive to 12th Street S.
• Army Navy Drive, from S. Joyce Street to S. Eads Street
• S. Joyce Street, from Army Navy Drive to Columbia Pike
• Columbia Pike, from S. Oak Street to Washington Boulevard
• S. Washington Boulevard, from Arlington Boulevard to Columbia Pike
• S. Washington Boulevard, from SB George Washington Parkway
• Route 110 S., from I-66 and Wilson Boulevard to Army Navy Drive
• Marshall Drive, from Iwo Jima Access Road to Route 110 S.
• Southgate Road, from S. Nash Street to Columbia Pike
• The ramp to Army Navy Drive from NB I-395 Exit 8A, Arlington Ridge Road, and N. Washington Boulevard
• The ramp from NB I-395 Exit 8C to Pentagon City / Crystal City

ACPD said motorists should expect traffic and “extended travel times” in the surrounding areas. The department advises seeking “alternative routes to reduce road congestion,” including taking Metro.

The Rosslyn Metro Station is located within walking distance of the jazz festival while both the Pentagon City and Crystal City Metro stations are in walking distance of the race. Paid parking is available at the Pentagon City Mall garage.

Police say additional street parking near both events will be restricted and motorists should be on the lookout for temporary “No Parking” signs.

Plans to build the long-planned 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center in Arlington National Cemetery could be gaining momentum.

There will be an in-person and virtual meeting next Wednesday, Sept. 6, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. to discuss the project.

The proposed building will have displays about the 184 individuals who lost their lives on 9/11 and the symbolism of the memorial’s design. There will also be permanent restrooms, shelter for visitors, a café, bookstore and conference space.

“While a memorial exists that honors the 184 lives that were lost as a result of the attack on the Pentagon, there is no [visitor education center] that provides an understanding of the events of that day, the lives lost, and the historic significance of the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Site,” per a report.

The education center is set to be located within the cemetery’s southern expansion, along Columbia Pike, which is being realigned to accommodate the cemetery’s expansion.

The meeting could be a sign of progress after years of stagnation, caused in part by delays to the start of realignment construction from early fall of 2021 to the spring of 2022.

Progress on the center is linked to the realignment work as the new roads will surround the site, Pentagon Memorial Fund executive director Jim Laychak previously told ARLnow. He did not respond before deadline to a request for an updated construction timeline.

Plans to build this facility have been in the works for years. The idea was first announced in September 2015 with a goal of opening in 2019 or 2020. Those years came and went, and then, the facility eyed a 2025 debut. At last check, the project is set to open in 2026 — the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

The center, estimated to cost roughly $100 million, will be financed with private donations — including a $2.5 million contribution from Amazon — as well as federal funding.

Two years after Eagle Scout Megan Mazel started building a memorial around a World Trade Center steel beam in Pentagon City, a fellow scout is finishing what she started.

In 2010, the New York City Fire Department gave a warped and rusted steel beam — salvaged from the wreckage of World Trade Center’s North Tower after 9/11 — to the Arlington County Fire Department. The county held a ceremony and pledged to build a memorial.

For more than a decade, however, the beam sat unadorned outside Arlington County Fire Station 5 in Pentagon City. Mazel, then a member of Boy Scout Troop 164, approached ACFD about giving the beam a more fitting tribute.

“Coming from a military family and first responder family, I was a little taken aback at the fact that they just dropped this significant piece of metal on the lawn near the fire department… and they didn’t do anything for the first 10 years of it being there,” Mazel told ARLnow.

In August 2020, Mazel began drafting a proposal. She envisioned a pentagon-shaped walking path surrounding the steel beam, with one point oriented north toward the Pentagon.

Since the beam was on county property, however, she encountered a lot of red tape. It took nearly a year for her designs to be approved, leaving Mazel three weeks to meet her deadline: the 20th anniversary of the attacks.

In that time, she managed to build railroad ties around the beam, add mulch and install three ground sleeves for flag poles.

“I think it turned out well for the time that I had in the situation that I was in,” she said. “But I wish that I could have done more to it.”

Now, Daniel Bode, a Wakefield High School student and scout with Troop 164, is adding to her vision.

Working around the county’s plans for the site, Bode said he secured approval to add flower beds and benches around the steel beam “to further enhance the experience” of the memorial.

“I wanted to add benches because there should be a seating area around the area, just so you’re not standing and looking down on it,” Bode told ARLnow.

Last weekend, Bode, Mazel, other scouts and Arlington firefighters started installing the flower beds and laying the concrete for the benches. This Saturday, Bode and his fellow scouts intend to install the benches.

He aims to have the site ready for a commemoration ceremony by military personnel on Sept. 9.

“We will come back and even out the mulch a bit. Clean up the concrete pillars. Make the area look nice and bolt in the benches. And then that should be it,” he said.

Capt. Joshua Milfeit, who assisted both scouts with their individual projects, said he is excited to see Bode finish what Mazel started.

“There is a plan of some sort from the county to make it a more permanent memorial,” he said. “Until there is a permanent memorial, we can still make it something nicer than it used to be, which was two wood stanchions with a piece of steel.”

For Bode, the project honors those who lost their lives on 9/11 and holds personal significance for him.

“I didn’t have any family members that were lost,” he said. “But, of course, having military parents and a lot of friends and family who are in EMT service, or police officers, or the fire department, it just touches close to home,” he said.

As for Mazel, she said she hopes that other scouts will continue carrying out what she and Bode have done so far.

“If people keep adding to it, and it keeps being an Eagle Scout project that keeps getting bigger and more generation of kids get to do research about 9/11, I’ll be perfectly fine with that,” Mazel said.

(Updated at noon) An anonymous Russian buyer has taken the website for Arlington’s annual 9/11 Memorial 5K hostage, undermining registration for this year’s race.

When the domain name lapsed, this buyer took over the page, translated it into Russian and demanded a large sum of money from the race committee to return it, Race Director Joshua Milfeit told ARLnow.

Instead of paying, the committee decided to abandon the old “.com” web domain and buy a new “.us” domain of the same name, said Milfeit, who is also a captain with the Arlington County Fire Department.

The 5K is hosted yearly by the Arlington County police and fire departments, sheriff’s office and the Emergency Communications Center. So far, some 200 runners are registered, compared to around 1,000 sign-ups typically seen by the end of June, Milfeit said.

“We’re all fire and police, none of us are professionals at this type of thing. Now our registration is super low for this year because people can’t find us on our new website,” Milfeit said.

In light of this year’s confusion, the early-bird registration deadline has been extended through the month of July. Those who register before then will pay $40 per person for a spot in the race, plus a race shirt, a bib and a finisher’s medal, Milfeit said.

There is an option when registering to sign up as an individual or in a team, with all children under the age of 12 getting a $10 discount applied at checkout.

All proceeds made from registration sign ups will be donated to the Bouldercrest Retreat, a mental health facility for military and first responders.

“We cut them a $50,000 check last year,” Milfeit said.

Jose Quiroz organized the race until becoming Acting Sheriff, after former Sheriff Beth Arthur announced her early retirement. Milfeit volunteered to take on the position of race director when Quiroz had to focus on his campaign to be the next permanent Sheriff. He prevailed in last week’s Democratic primary.

Milfeit says the 5K is an important tradition for him and his colleagues.

“Fire service is all about tradition and this is one of the true traditions Arlington police, fire and 911 communication center members can all do together,” Milfeit said.

The race will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9 at the DoubleTree Hotel (300 Army Navy Drive) in Pentagon City. The course loops around the Pentagon and runners cross the finish line near where they started.

Donated post-race snacks and water will be available at the finish line. A post-race party will feature a DJ, a beer truck pouring free drinks and food trucks with food for sale.

For those who can’t attend the race, a donation page has been set up to help the event reach its $25,000 goal. There is also an option to register as a virtual runner, a feature that came about after the 2020 race was made completely virtual due to Covid-19.

In the last two decades, the 9/11 Memorial 5K has donated close to $1 million to 9/11-related charities, including the Pentagon Memorial Fund, Project Enduring Pride and the National Police Suicide Foundation.

(Updated at 3 p.m.) A pair of large events are planned for Saturday, resulting in road closures in Rosslyn and the Crystal City area.

First up, the Rosslyn Jazz Fest, scheduled from 1-7 p.m. in Gateway Park, will close the following roads from 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

• EB Langston Boulevard, from Fort Myer Drive to N. Moore Street
• Fort Myer Drive driveway access, from 19th Street N. to N. Moore Street

“Traffic is expected to be impacted in the area and motorists should seek alternate routes to reduce road congestion,” the Arlington County Police Department said. “Attendees are encouraged to use Metro and other forms of multimodal transportation. The Rosslyn Metro Station (Orange, Silver, and Blue lines) is located within walking distance to the event.”

Later that day, a more extensive set of road closures will be put in place between 3-5 p.m. for the 20th Annual Arlington Police, Fire, Sheriff, & ECC 9/11 Memorial 5k race.

From a police press release:

The Arlington County Police Department will close the following roadways around the Pentagon and in Crystal City to accommodate the event:

From approximately 3:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

• Army Navy Drive, from S. Eads Street to 12th Street S.

From approximately 5:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

• S. Eads Street, from Army Navy Drive to 12th Street S.
• S. Fern Street, from Army Navy Drive to 12th Street S.
• S. Hayes Street, from Army Navy Drive to 12th Street S.
• Army Navy Drive, from S. Joyce Street to S. Eads Street
• S. Joyce Street, from Army Navy Drive to Columbia Pike
• Columbia Pike, from S. Oak Street to Washington Boulevard
• S. Washington Boulevard, from Arlington Boulevard to Columbia Pike
• S. Washington Boulevard, from SB George Washington Parkway
• Route 110 S., from I-66 and Wilson Boulevard to Army Navy Drive
• Marshall Drive, from Iwo Jima Access Road to Route 110 S.
• Southgate Road, from Oak Street to Columbia Pike
• The ramp to Army Navy Drive from NB I-395 Exit 8A, Arlington Ridge Road, and N. Washington Boulevard
• The ramp from NB I-395 Exit 8C to Pentagon City / Crystal City

“Race attendees and spectators are encouraged to use Metro or other forms of multimodal transportation,” said the release. “The Pentagon City Metro Station (Blue and Yellow lines) and Crystal City Metro Station (Blue and Yellow lines) are located within walking distance to the racecourse. Paid parking is available at the Pentagon City Mall garage for those choosing to drive.”

Street parking in the area of both events will be restricted, with temporary “No Parking” signs placed along various streets, police said.

There’s also a third major event that will be coming through the county Saturday morning: the D.C. Bike Ride, the route for which goes over the 14th Street Bridge and loops around near the Pentagon.

Arlington County’s annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony is taking place in Courthouse.

A live feed of the event, which started around 9:30 a.m. and features local officials and members of the police and fire departments, is available below. The full event should be viewable upon its conclusion.

American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, killing 184 people. It a clear late summer day, not unlike today.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to attend a private memorial service at the Pentagon Sunday morning, with the Secretary of Defense and family members of the victims, to mark the 21st anniversary of the terror attacks.

The long-planned 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center is delayed another year and is now hoping for a 2026 opening.

The $100 million education center is set to be located within the soon-to-be expanded Arlington National Cemetery and along Columbia Pike, which is being realigned to accommodate the cemetery’s expansion.

However, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) project got off to a late start with construction being pushed from the early fall of 2021 to the spring of 2022.

That has also moved the education center’s timeline back about a year, executive director Jim Laychak told ARLnow. The aim is now to start construction on the education center in 2024 with a hoped-for opening in 2026 — 25 years after the terror attacks.

“That [realignment and expansion] project frames the site for the future visitors’ center, so we are dependent on that and its timeline,” Laychak said.

When the facility was first announced in September 2015 and when renderings were displayed at the Pentagon City mall in 2016, the goal was to open in 2019 or 2020.

In terms of design, the plans for the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center haven’t changed much since last year. There have been some adjustments to the exterior, said Laychak, but those are still under review.

The education center will feature a modern design with exhibits on the first floor, “interactive biographies” of those who died at the Pentagon on 9/11, a second-floor conference room with views, a rooftop terrace, and ample parking.

Laychak, who also oversaw the building of the Pentagon Memorial, says this project is being funded in much the same way as the memorial — a combination of public and private funds.

The education center has raised about $14 million in private donations so far, an increase of about $9 million since this time last year. That includes a $2.5 million donation from Amazon.

The project still needs another $85 million though, Laychak said. The hope is to receive about $70 million from the federal government.

The 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center, much like the memorial, is a deeply personal project for Laychak. His brother Dave was killed at the Pentagon on 9/11. This weekend will mark the 21st anniversary of the terrorist attack and his brother’s death.

“All of them are [tough],” Laychak said last year about the 20th anniversary. “One is not any more or less meaningful than the other, though you start to realize how much life has gone on without Dave.”

He’ll be in attendance at the Pentagon Memorial again this year for a small service for family members and invited guests.

The memorial and education center are important reminders, Laychak said, of a tragic day that changed history and defined a generation that fought the wars that followed. For such a pivotal moment in history, however, it’s notable that newer generations have not had the same searing memories of that fateful day.

Laychak briefly told a story about how he was leading a school tour at the memorial a few years ago and many of the kids didn’t know the details of what had happened at the Pentagon on 9/11.

“We need to remember those stories and remember what happened, especially these days with social media and all of the misinformation, conspiracy theories,” said Laychak. “We are going to get [the education center] done. It’s a project we believe in.”

A retired flight attendant will be pushing a beverage cart from Dulles airport to the Pentagon next month in honor of his colleagues who were killed on 9/11.

It was the evening of September 10, 2001, when Paul “Paulie” Veneto arrived back in Boston on Flight 175. He was working as a flight attendant for United Airlines at the time and the Los Angeles to Boston was his normal route. But his shift was up, so he and the rest of his crew switched.

“The next morning, September 11, the next crew went out the trip I had just finished,” he told ARLnow over the phone. “So, I knew all of those crew members.”

In remembrance of his former colleagues and all the crew on the four flights that were hijacked on that fateful day, Veneto will be pushing an airplane beverage cart 30 miles from Dulles International Airport to the Pentagon. That’s the path of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon and killed 184 people.

Veneto is set to begin the journey on Sept. 8 with his arrival set for Sept. 11, 21 years after Veneto himself narrowly avoided becoming a 9/11 victim. The cart will be adorned with the names of all those crew members that died that day attempting to save lives.

“You hear about all the police and fire and they all deserve credit, they did extraordinary things,” said Veneto. “But I knew people were suffering not hearing about the heroics of those crew members.”

Last year for the 20th anniversary of 9/11, he embarked on a similar, though much longer, journey. It took him 230 miles and about three weeks to push a beverage cart from Boston Logan International Airport to Ground Zero in New York.

He encountered numerous obstacles making that trip, including hurricane-like rain, hills, heat, and railroad tracks, but what he remembers by far the most are the people lining the route and cheering him on.

“It was unbelievable… there were whole towns, fire trucks, everyone waiting for me,” Veneto said. “It was crazy.”

He had military veterans, police, and those who lost people that day coming up to him to tell him their stories of how 9/11 impacted them.

That’s when he realized he needed to do the beverage cart push again, this time following the path of Flight 77 that ultimately went from Dulles to the Pentagon. He and his team have scouted the route already, which is mostly a bike path and “pretty flat.” He doesn’t foresee any major issues, though does caution he’s “expecting the unexpected.”

While a beverage cart can weigh a couple of hundred pounds, Veneto said that pushing one down the road has nothing on navigating one through the aisle of a full aircraft attempting to avoid legs, arms, and knees.

Veneto’s journey will start at about 8 a.m. on Sept. 8, when he will go down the ramp at Dulles, en route to the Pentagon. The plan is to arrive in Arlington in the afternoon of the 21st anniversary of the attacks.

For those who want to track Veneto or, even, cheer him along the way, a real-time map will be providing photo and updates on where he is.

Veneto, who struggled with drug addiction after 9/11, said he gets inspired to remain sober by remembering those colleagues and friends who lost their lives that day. He hopes others might as well find some strength in the memories of the crew members to battle whatever challenges they are facing.

“I get the strength from looking at [their pictures] and thinking of what they must have went through that morning,” he said. “They were the first responders.“

Dispute Leads to Violence, Vehicular Mayhem — “The victim pulled the suspect out of the vehicle and he pushed her, causing her to fall to the ground. A security guard intervened and separated the parties. The suspect then reentered his vehicle, described as a white van, and fled the scene. While fleeing, the suspect allegedly struck the victim’s vehicle, a sign on the property, and drove towards the security guard, causing him to dive out of the way.” [ACPD]

Beyer Wants Quieter Airplanes — “As the representative for the area around Reagan National Airport, one of the most common concern heard by Rep. Don Beyer is airplane noise. On Friday, Beyer is reintroducing the Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act to seek study on reducing airplane noise and emissions.” [Patch]

Top ACPD Official Retires — “Per a tribute that just went out on ACPD’s dispatch channel, Deputy Chief Michael Dunne is retiring today after 38 years of service.” [Twitter]

Arlington Ranks No. 15 for Solo Affordability — “Rent prices are rising rapidly in many of America’s largest cities. Nationally, average rent increased by 11.3% between the start of 2021 and 2022… In this study, we compared the 100 largest U.S. cities across topics such as rent costs, earnings, living costs and employment to uncover where renters can afford to live alone.” [SmartAsset]

Major Delays at DCA — “At Reagan National Airport in the Washington, D.C. region on Thursday, more than 200 flights — roughly 43 percent of scheduled departures — were delayed, and 79, or 16 percent, were canceled. At Dulles International Airport, only 4 percent of scheduled departures were canceled, but 30 percent of flights were delayed.” [Washington Post]

Flyover for Tuskegee Airman — “Memorial events for Brigadier General Charles E. McGee, one of the last surviving members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, were held Friday… McGee’s funeral took place at Arlington National Cemetery with a flyover.” [WJLA, WRIC]

Chance Connection Turns into Emotional Bond — “An Arlington, Virginia, family recently met someone who has an indelible connection to their deceased father that was forged in the chaos and smoking debris at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.” [NBC 4]

It’s Monday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 77 and low of 57. Sunrise at 5:45 am and sunset at 8:38 pm. [Weather.gov]

Editor’s Note — Our staff has the day off due to the federal observation of the Juneteenth holiday. Barring breaking news, we will only be publishing in the morning today.

Dave Grohl Rocks Local Studio — “Dave Grohl doesn’t seem terribly interested in taking a day off. Shortly after the 9:30 Club announced the Grohl-led Foo Fighters would play a surprise show Thursday, the former Nirvana drummer reunited with D.C.-based punk rockers, at Inner Ear Studio — the legendary and soon-to-close Arlington, Virginia, recording studio owned by Don Zientara.” [WTOP]

Fmr. Fire Chief on Arlington’s 9/11 Response — “‘It was truly an all-hands-on-deck endeavor,’ Schwartz said at the historical society’s annual banquet, held Sept. 9 at Washington Golf & Country Club. ‘We’re all in this together. There’s not a single agency or even a single jurisdiction that can handle this by themselves.’ Schwartz pointed to the county’s then-fire chief, Edward Plaugher, for his work building relationships with agencies like the FBI. Plaugher ‘was ahead of his time’ in being concerned about terrorism.” [Sun Gazette]

Night Paving at Busy Intersection — “Nighttime paving continues overnight this week at the Langston Boulevard (Lee Highway)-Glebe Road intersection improvements project… lasting into Friday, Sept. 17.” [Twitter]

Nicecream Hits Rocky Road — Nicecream, the handcrafted ice cream shop that expanded after finding success with its first location in Clarendon, is closing its Shaw store in the District. [PoPville]