The Pentagon
The Pentagon is probably most familiar to students for its unique shape. This five-sided building is used almost daily on the news and in television and the movies to symbolize the US Department of Defense, which finds its headquarters in the Pentagon and has become one of the most talked-about areas of our government.
If the shape of the building seems astounding, imagine its interior – built for ultimate privacy and protection. The room numbers contain letters and numbers as well as codes to represent various corridors. Student won't possibly have the puzzle unraveled after a tour here, although they will have walked a mile of it and been given 90 minutes of history and detail surrounding the four branches of our military – the Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps.
Pentagon tour guides are trained for weeks and are active-duty members of the Nation's Capital ceremonial units. The Pentagon tour was designed in 1976 to celebrate the country's bicentennial and became so popular that it remains today. It makes a great addition to Washington D.C. student tours and group travel.
Besides a look at the four military branches, the Pentagon tour also includes the Wall of Heroes on which you'll see the names of every recipient for the prestigious medal of honor, which you can then glimpse up close. You'll walk through the Native American display as well, dedicated to their role in our nation's history. Among these and other sights within the Pentagon walls, you'll visit the September 11 th crash site and memorial chapel as well as the memorial built in honor of the victims and heroes from that day. This is the first 9/11 memorial to be completed at any of the crash sites from that horrible day and a moving part of the Pentagon tour.
Other Washington DC Attractions: Arlington National Cem. | Capitol Hill | FDR Memorial | Illuminations Tour | International Spy Museum | Jefferson Memorial | Korean War Memorial | Lincoln Memorial | National Cryptologic Museum | National Law Enforcement Memorial | National Law Enforcement Museum | National Museum of Crime & Punishment | Smithsonian Air & Space | Smithsonian African Art | Smithsonian American Art | Smithsonian Mus. of History | Smithsonian Native American | The Pentagon | The Supreme Court | U.S. Holocaust Memorial Mus. | U.S. Marine Corps Memorial | U.S. Naval Observatory | Vietnam War Memorial | Washington Monument | White House Tours | White House Visitors Center | White House Photo Op
