NEW YORK CITY – As the United States prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy, the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, Va., has unveiled a new exhibit dedicated to the engineering response that followed the attacks.
Titled “Steel and Stone: Engineering the Response to 9/11,” the exhibit brings together oral histories and artifacts collected by historians in the aftermath of the attacks. The collection offers a closer look at the work carried out by the Army and the Army Corps of Engineers during one of the most difficult periods in the nation’s recent history.
The exhibit chronicles the actions taken in the minutes, days and months following the tragedy, highlighting the role of Army personnel and Army Corps of Engineers in responding to the crisis and helping the nation begin the difficult process of rebuilding.
The material provides visitors with a historical account of the engineering challenges faced after Sept. 11 and the efforts undertaken to address them, according to a release.
The exhibit also reflects the broader mission of the Army Corps of Engineers and its long-standing commitment to finding solutions to complex national challenges.
“Our motto is: ‘Devising engineering solutions for the nation’s toughest challenges,’” said John Lonnquest, chief historian for the Army Corps of Engineers, in a statement.
Lonnquest emphasized that the events following the attacks demonstrated the ability of the government, the Army and the Corps of Engineers to respond to extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
“The government can do hard things. The Corps of Engineers and the Army can do hard things. And together, the Army and the nation and its populace got through that really tough day, and we’re stronger and certainly wiser for it,” he said.
