9/11 ANNIVERSARY -- September 10, 2011 at 4:00 PM EDT

After a Day of Horror at the Pentagon, a Determined Effort to Rebuild

By: Saskia de Melker and ray suarez

In the days and months after the 9/11 attack, senior correspondent Ray Suarez reported from his hometown of New York and the ravaged Pentagon just a few miles from the NewsHour's studio. Suarez recalls his vivid memories of seeing the wreckage and his coverage of the Pentagon's accelerated rebuilding efforts.

He took a close look at the reconstruction efforts of the so-called "Phoenix Project." Thousands of workers toiled to recover the blast damage and restore the Pentagon in record time and with new innovative engineering. A year after the attack, Pentagon employees began returning to their rebuilt offices.

On the day itself, Suarez recalls hearing the news and then seeing where the plane had crashed into the side of the Pentagon as he made his way to the NewsHour studio. Those are sights and smells, he says, he will never forget.

Find more of our coverage of the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

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