Issue Date: 9/24/07
A DAY TO REMEMBER
College memorial pays tribute to 9/11 victims
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"Its 9 a.m.," Fleming said. "Actually, both towers are down right now."
Fleming, along with dozens of students, commemorated the six-year anniversary of the deadliest attack in U.S. history in the past 30 years with a memorial on the Palomar lawn in front of the Student Center.
"It's kind of macabre to say I wish that we could have done this at the same time that the towers fell, but this is West Coast time on something that happened east coast hours," Fleming said.
More than 75 Palomar students and faculty members paid their respects to the fallen citizens of New York City, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa.
"This is just a reminder of what happened six years ago," Fleming said of the
ceremony.
The Palomar Republicans and the Office of Student Affairs sponsored the Sept. 11 event and Fleming said he was pleased with the merger.
"This isn't a political statement of anything in any way," Fleming said. "This is totally bipartisan. The Office of Student Affairs helped us out on this immensely. We wouldn't have been able to do this without them."
A flag of honor with the names of the 2,974 victims who lost their lives was and placed on a table next to the podium for spectators to view. The Palomar wrestling team assisted in inserting countless miniature American flags on the lawn next to the Clock Tower, symbolizing the loss of life.
"I'm thankful that something was done to honor that day," said Vanessa Hickerson, a radiology major. "I don't want to give the terrorists credit by remembering this day, just the people of our country."
For more than two hours, Bonnie Plein and Flecicia Heise of the Athletic Department read off the names of each
victim.
Fleming said that no matter what
generation you're from, an event that impacts the entire country will not be forgotten. He added that he remembers vividly where he was at that fateful time.
"I was in the United States Air Force watching this on a digital projection screen," Fleming said. "We saw it happen five minutes after the first plane hit. We're all aircraft guys and we were trying to figure out what kind of plane this was. It never crossed our minds that it was a commercial jet filled with passengers, until we saw the second plane. That's when our happy, go-easy time, being in the military ended."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Melissa
posted 9/24/07 @ 12:41 PM PST
It is amazing that a flag for each victim was placed on the lawn by the clock tower. I applaud Student Affairs for bringing something so meaningful to the Palomar College Campus. (Continued…)
the girl on the balcony
posted 9/29/07 @ 7:59 PM PST
i have to give Palomar the thumbs up for this one. the flags were an awesome way to show respect for each life lost. when taps was being played everybody just kind of stopped what they were doing and listened. (Continued…)
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