Despite the U.S. not being at war, the fall of France and the Low Countries in June 1940 triggered a far-reaching American military mobilization effort.
Pentagon, large five-sided building in Arlington county, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., that serves as the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, including all three military services Army, Navy, and Air Force. Constructed during 1941–43, the Pentagon was intended to consolidate the offices of the War Department, which had occupied 17 separate facilities throughout Washington. Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt initially favoured a building without windows to protect it from potential air raids, he was later convinced by building engineers that such a facility would be impractical. He eventually supported a five-sided design by George Edwin Bergstrom though Gilmore Clarke, the chairman
Pentagon, The – Encyclopedia Virginia encyclopediavirginia.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from encyclopediavirginia.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.