Student Council, along with Young Americans for Freedom at U.Va. and the Burke Society, commemorated the 15th anniversary of the September 11th attacks by holding a “Never Forget” ceremony and planting flags on the Lawn in remembrance of the lives which were lost.
The ceremony centered on the importance of remembrance and began with the Air Force ROTC presenting the colors and the singing of the national anthem by the Academical Village People.
Next, YAF Chair Vijay Menon, a fourth-year Batten student, spoke about the impact that September 11, 2001, had on his life.
“We all have someone who was affected by this national tragedy,” Menon said. “I could tell the story of a close family friend who called his brother from one of the towers and told his brother that he was going to die, or I could tell the story of my aunt who was late to a meeting in the World Trade Center that morning and is alive today because of it.”
Menon talked about the 2,997 individuals who died that day, and how most students in attendance rely on stories and eyewitness accounts to understand what happened since they were too young to remember the day itself.
Video footage of the smoking World Trade towers and fire burning in the courtyard of the Pentagon flashed on the screen in the front of the room. Those in attendance watched the moments during which the landscape of New York City changed forever.
The floor was then given to Nick Freitas, a man who served in the U.S. Army for 11 years, completed tours in Iraq and now serves as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in the 30th district.
Freitas conducted a quick survey of the room and was impressed to find most people there were under the age of 25.
“One of the marks of humanity is being able to show empathy for something you haven’t experienced personally, and the fact that so many of you were so young when this happened and have taken the time out of your day to be here — it means a lot,” Freitas said.
Freitas first heard about the attacks on the World Trade Center when he was 21 years old completing mock operations as part of his army training.
“All of us in uniform definitely knew what would happen next,” Freitas said. “We knew what we were going to do for the next ten years of our lives, and it just so happens that we still have people overseas fighting as a result.”
Freitas became emotional as he explained that remembrance is not just recanting events but rather comes with an obligation.
“I’ve served with heroes. I’ve seen the children of friends of mine carry the flags of their fathers,” Freitas said. “If you want to honor those memories live your life in a way that’s worth living. Remember that remembering is something that you’re going to do every day for the rest of your lives.”
The audience then proceeded outside Minor Hall where each individual grabbed tealight candles in plastic cups and walked behind the color guard to the flags placed on the South Lawn by the Burke Society.
The group linked arms and listened as Pastor Pete Hartwig from City Church ended the ceremony with a prayer.
“I pray for those of us that maybe have already had an event in our life that has caused us to wrestle with hope and wrestle with trusting at a deep level and knowing that somehow, someway, forgiveness needs to become front and center in our hearts and in our lives,” Hartwig said. “I pray there would be the ability to hope again and to trust again.”
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