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Starting Today, 9/11 Memorial Museum Features Items From Mission To Kill Osama Bin Laden
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 7, 2014
Modified Sep 7, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 7, 2014
Modified Sep 7, 2014
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The 9/11 Memorial Museum has announced a "new exhibition portraying the years-long hunt, the ultimate discovery and killing of Osama bin Laden." Besides the shirt of from the Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden, the museum has two other items—including one from bin Laden's compound.
From the museum's press release:
There are three primary components of the exhibit, including a military-style shirt worn by one of the U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6 members who took part in the 2011 raid of bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The shirt has an American flag patch on the sleeve colored black and brown. The flag is backwards, as done on such military shirts in a symbolic gesture referencing the era when the flag-bearer led soldiers behind him on the charge to battle.
The exhibition is also comprised of a so-called challenge coin, which was donated by “Maya,” the alias for the CIA operative who pursued bin Laden, and a brick recovered from the compound where the al-Qaeda leader was killed...
The challenge coin was created to commemorate the successful operation that eliminated bin Laden. One side of the coin is marked “May 1, 2011,” the U.S. date when the operation occurred. The other side shows a red “X” mark. After9/11, President George W. Bush kept a list in his desk of key al-Qaeda operatives still at large. Whenever one was exposed, arrested or killed, he would make a red X through the assailant’s name. The brick, recovered from bin Laden’s hideout, has been on display in the Museum since it opened in May 2014. Several photographs complete the new installation. The identities of the retired Navy SEAL and the CIA operative are not included in the exhibition to preserve their anonymity.
The shirt is apparently from the actual SEAL Team 6 Member that killed bin Laden, but the Post noted that he's remaining anonymous "because of concerns for his safety — and his name will not be included in the display of the shirt, which is brown with a black American flag on the sleeve... In fact, the shirt will only be identified as a shirt belonging to a member of the SEAL team that took out bin Laden, though sources said it was worn by the actual shooter."
The CIA operative "Maya," reportedly based on a CIA analyst named "Jen," was depicted by Jessica Chastain in the film Zero Dark Thirty:
In a Washington Post feature about "Maya" and her prickly, combative nature, a former colleague said, "She’s not Miss Congeniality, but that’s not going to find Osama bin Laden."
9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels said, "This exhibit not only captures a seminal moment in American history, it also allows millions of visitors the chance to recognize the extraordinary bravery of the men and women who sacrifice so much for this country at home and abroad. I have had the distinct honor to meet the man who wore this shirt into battle and donated it to represent the heroic efforts of Seal Team 6 for their execution of Operation Neptune Spear. I thank him and ‘Maya’—both for their bravery, courage and determination, which provided a measure of justice for every single American, and for entrusting us with these artifacts of such national and international importance."
The exhibition is in the museum's Foundation Hall, where the slurry wall and "Last Column" are located.
Tagged
9/11 Memorial Museum
9/11 museum
challenge coin
Navy Seal shirt
Navy Seal Team 6
Osama bin Laden
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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