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.