About Us

This website has been created to mark the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th attack on the Pentagon. The photographs shown on this site capture the moments after the hijacked plane flew into the western side of the building. Most of the photographs have not been publicly shown before now.

The Photographer:

Daryl Donley's editorial, production, and documentary photography has appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Washington Post, national and international magazines, and books, including Life's 2002 edition of The Year in Pictures covering the events of September 11, 2001. The Discovery Channnel featured Mr. Donley's photographs in the documentary, Attack on the Pentagon. Additionally, Mr. Donley's September 11th photographs have been exhibited by the Smithsonian Institution and appear in the permanent collections of the Newseum and the Library of Congress.

The photographer's account of the morning of September 11, 2001:

I had been driving to work for about 45 minutes in unusually bad bumper to bumper traffic. While I was stopped in traffic, in front of the Pentagon, I heard a loud sound get very loud extremely fast. I ducked down in my car as quickly as I could. I followed the sound as it traveled over me. I looked up to see the entire plane next to my car, through my passenger window a short distance away. I felt the heat. I watched the plane fly into the Pentagon. I heard the crunching sound of the plane disintegrating as it slammed into the building at ground level. I screamed as loudly as I possibly could. The plane disappeared into the building as a massive fireball erupted, engulfing one side of the Pentagon.

I got out of my car. Traffic was completely stopped at that time. Military Police on the north and south end of the roadway in front of the Pentagon were holding traffic in place. I paced back and forth across the road a few times in complete disbelief. I saw one man in the stopped traffic calmly speaking on his cell phone standing next to his car. Another woman near him was screaming hysterically out of control in her vehicle.

As I was pacing, I realized I had all my camera equipment in my car since I was planning on photographing an event later in the day. Initially I dismissed picking up my camera in the midst of something so traumatic and raw but ultimately decided what was happening in front of me needed to be documented.

I went to my car. Although my hands were shaking like leaves in a stiff wind, I managed to load film in my camera and, after a few failed attempts, successfully loaded a new battery. I was photographing within a couple of minutes of the plane crashed. I continued until the Military Police decided to clear the road.

Even then, as I drove away, I continued to photograph in the very slow stop and go traffic. It took me about another hour and a half until I crossed Roosevelt Bridge and was able to park and get out of my car.