Fort Myer fire coat on display at 9/11 museum

By James DresbachJune 24, 2014

Fort Myer fire coat on display at 9/11 museum
A Fort Myer Fire Department bunker coat has been included in the display at the Pentagon section of the National 9/11 Memorial Museum. The jacket (pictured here), which belonged to FMFD member Alan Wallace, who was on-duty at the Pentagon fire statio... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

NEW YORK - An artifact associated with Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall's involvement with the Sept. 11, 2001, Pentagon attack is currently a temporary part of the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum collection in New York City.

A Fort Myer Fire Department bunker coat has been included in the display at the Pentagon section of the Manhattan museum.

The dark colored firefighting jacket, which belonged to FMFD member Alan Wallace, who was on-duty at the Pentagon fire station Sept. 11, 2001, contains three singe marks on the lower back of the jacket along with the firefighter's name and the identifying fire department, "Fort Myer."

"This is the only object on display from Fort Myer," National 9/11 Memorial and Museum Deputy Communications Manager Margaret Barng wrote in an email to the Pentagram. "However, the museum is actively collecting stories and objects related to the attacks, response, and recovery efforts at the Pentagon."

When told of the whereabouts of the coat, which is on loan to the museum from United States Army Historical Collection, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Fire Department Capt. Russell Miller was visibly moved.

"I've never seen a picture [of the coat] until now, but the guys [at the fire department] were the coat was at the museum," Miller said while he was shown a picture of the jacket hanging in the museum.

The journey the coat has made during the past 13 years has taken it from Wallace's back while he fought the Pentagon fire following the attack to the Fort McNair-based Center of Military History to the newly-opened lower Manhattan museum.

USACMH Curator Jim Speraw explained that the bunker jacket is on loan to the 9/11 museum and was given to the Center of Military History by the Fort Myer Fire Department.

"I obtained it while visiting with the Fort Myer fire station looking for items that were pertinent to the Army's portion of the story of 9/11," Speraw said.

The National 9/11 Memorial and Museum was dedicated and opened May 15 in New York City's lower Manhattan.