I always thought it was kind of weird choice. You'd think one of the requirements for your primary military building would be that you wouldn't want it to be easy to pick out from the air by potential bombers. Especially in WWII, when aerial bombardment was such a major part of the war, and such bombing relied heavily on visual recognition of the target. But the Pentagon isn't just architecturally distinctive, but is so in such a way that's primarily appreciated from above, and than they named it to draw attention to the fact. (the article does mention that this objection was at least briefly considered during the buildings planning).
And indeed, the building was bombed from the air in 2001. One wonders if the 9/11 hijackers would've chosen it as a target if it wasn't so easy to pick out by eye.
And indeed, the building was bombed from the air in 2001. One wonders if the 9/11 hijackers would've chosen it as a target if it wasn't so easy to pick out by eye.