In D.C., Smithsonian, Redskins will be among those marking 9/11

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The door to a crushed New York City fire truck is already on display. Soon, a bell will ring 184 times, once for each victim of the attack on the Pentagon. And a new memorial featuring twisted steel beams from the World Trade Center and limestone pieces from the Pentagon will be dedicated.

These are among the events underway or planned for the Washington area to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, terrorist attacks. Events range from prayer vigils to an observance at the Washington Redskins’ football game.

The Washington National Cathedral on Thursday was forced to move its events to other locations after a construction crane fell a day earlier on its grounds. The crane was in place to repair damage to the cathedral from the Aug. 23 earthquake.

‘A Concert to Honor,’ scheduled for Friday night, and ‘A Concert for Hope,’ scheduled for Sunday and featuring remarks from President Obama, will now take place at Kennedy Center.

Obama is scheduled to travel Sunday to New York; Arlington, Va.; and Shanksville, Pa. A bipartisan delegation of the House of Representatives plans to attend memorial services at the three sites. On Monday, congressional leaders will also hold a remembrance ceremony on steps outside the Capitol, where lawmakers sang “God Bless America” after the attacks 10 years ago.

In Baltimore, the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland will be dedicated. It features three twisted steel beams from the World Trade Center and three limestone pieces from the Pentagon with three polished pieces of black granite to symbolize the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville. The names of 68 Marylanders who died in the terrorist attacks are engraved on the marble base.

The Arlington Historical Society will ring the bell at a historic school house 184 times, once for each victim of the Pentagon attack.

At the Redskins’ season-opener Sunday against the New York Giants, about 150 families affected by the attack on the Pentagon -- along with the first responders from Arlington County -- will join players from both teams in holding an American flag that will cover the playing field during the singing of “The Star Spangled Banner.” American flags also will be distributed to fans, and a firefighter display from the Madame Tussauds wax museum will be on display outside the stadium.

At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, more than 50 objects from the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville have been on display, as well as Transportation Security Administration items that show how life has changed since the attacks. The items include airplane fragments and a shirt from the first official screener uniform.

At the Newseum, engine parts and landing gear from the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center are among the items that have been put on display, adding to existing 9/11 exhibits that include a section of the broadcast antenna that stood atop the World Trade Center and front pages of papers from around the world the day after the attacks.

Federal agencies also are observing the anniversary. Three Federal Aviation Administration employees who were on duty on 9/11 shared their memories of the day and their thoughts on how the national transportation system has changed.

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-- Richard Simon in Washington, D.C.