Memorial Hours

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Diana Davis Spencer Foundation Commits $5 Million to Support Planned 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center

August 1, 2022

For Immediate Release

Jim Laychak

Executive Director

Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc.

(703) 627-8071

jlaychak@pentagonmemorial.org

Philanthropic Group’s donation along with those from Amazon,  Accenture, Transurban and other supporters continues drive to open the  Visitor Education Center by September 11, 2026 

ARLINGTON, VA – The non-profit Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. has moved closer to its goal  of establishing a visitor education center near the site of the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial thanks to a  generous $5 million gift from the philanthropic Diana Davis Spencer Foundation. The $5 million  pledge will be provided to the Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. in a series of installments paid over  four years.

“Our Foundation is pleased to provide support for the Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education  Center in line with our commitment to preserving American history and advancing national  security, especially as we honor those who lost their lives on 9/11,” said Diana Davis Spencer  Foundation President and CEO Abby Moffat.

The Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. is raising funds to establish a visitor education center at the  Pentagon memorial site honoring the 184 lives lost on September 11, 2001, when terrorists  hijacked American Airlines flight 77 and crashed it into the Pentagon. Unlike the Flight 93  National Memorial in Pennsylvania and the 9/11 Memorial in NYC, the Pentagon Memorial does  not have a visitor center to educate and inform the more than 1 million people who visit this hallowed site each year.

Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. officials are working to secure private and public sector funds to  complete the visitor education center by 2026, the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. When  completed, the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center will be located within walking  distance from the Pentagon Memorial and in proximity to Arlington National Cemetery. The  current memorial was dedicated on September 11, 2008.

“The magnitude of this generous gift from the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation cannot be  overstated,” said Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. Board Chairman and President Sean T.  Connaughton. “It draws us closer to completing our mission of establishing a visitor education  and conference center as part of the memorial complex. But more than that, it will ultimately  help us tell the full story of 9/11 to honor the men, women, and children whose lives were  needlessly and tragically cut short. Finishing this important project will help us educate future  generations about this sad but important chapter in American history and it will also serve as a  reminder of our unwavering national resolve.”

This latest gift from the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation follows a previous $2.5 million donation. It brings the organization’s total commitment to $7.5 million, making it the largest  individual donor to the visitor education center project. Other sizable donations have come from  Amazon Web Services ($2.5 million), Accenture ($1.5 million), and Transurban ($1 million).

Donations to the Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. to support the visitor education center project  can be made through this link.