As September arrives, we remember 9/11. For more than 20 years, I’ve had in my possession a piece of original Pentagon slate recovered after 9/11. I’m ashamed to say, it has been stored in closets as I moved from home to home between three states, until now. Today, the slate is memorialized in a case with museum glass and proudly hung in my home’s family room. To me, the slate tells the story of how the roofing industry came together after that horrible day.
On 9/11, I was assistant editor of Professional Roofing, a member magazine published by the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) in Rosemont, Ill. I remember being at work on that beautiful morning and watching in horror as the day’s events unfolded. Our building, which was adjacent to O’Hare International Airport, eventually was evacuated and closed because authorities had feared one of the planes that were part of the attacks had come from O’Hare.
When American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, approximately 60,000 square feet of the slate roof system was burned by jet fuel. Wanting to offer the industry’s expertise after 9/11, NRCA organized the reroofing of the Pentagon. I had always enjoyed my job and the industry, but I was particularly proud to be part of this moment as the roofing industry band together, offering monetary and materials donations, as well as time and skills to reroof the Pentagon.
To commemorate the reroofing, every NRCA employee was given an original slate that had been removed from the Pentagon’s roof. Each hefty slate measured approximately 10 by 20 inches and was inscribed before it was given to us: Pentagon Roof Project 2001, Original Slate Recovered After 9/11/01. My slate was charred by the fire on the front and particularly on the back. It also had a hairline fracture across the midsection. As careful as I tried to be with the storage of my slate, the fracture eventually broke it in two. At the time, I was upset but when I recently had it encased, I realized I now could show the charring on the back, along with the inscription on the front of the slate.
Although the story of the roofing industry’s commitment to rebuilding after 9/11 is often lost in all the other stories of that infamous day, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a formal resolution in June 2002, commending “the patriotic contributions of roofing professionals”.
And, now, friends and family who visit my home will have the opportunity to hear me talk about the roofing industry’s valiant efforts after 9/11 and view a piece of original Pentagon slate, safely enshrined for decades to come.