N.C. State will hold a ceremony Sunday, Sept. 11 to pay tribute to first responders and members of the military who are currently serving or have died in the line of duty.
The service, according to Kathy Hart, associate executive director of marketing and communications for the University’s alumni affairs, will begin at the Bell Tower a little before 2 p.m . and will feature many alumni speakers.
Hart also said the service will pay respect to the loss of NCSU alumnus Lt. Cmdr . Eric Cranford (’92) who was killed at the Pentagon on 9/11 while working for the Naval Command Center. Cranford’s family will attend the ceremony and perform a wreath-laying memorial to honor his memory.
Gabriel Harden, junior in computer science and public affairs officer for the University’s Air Force ROTC, said while this is not expected to be a long memorial—about 30 minutes—many preparations have been made to sufficiently honor first responders and their families.
“Three ROTC units—Army, Air Force and Navy—are going to meet at the ceremony at the Bell Tower to start the event to honor the dead of Sept. 11,” Harden said. “The end of the ceremony is going to be signaled by the simultaneous laying of a wreath on the Bell Tower, firing of a 21-gun salute, a bugler playing taps—a military song honoring the dead dating back to the Civil War—followed by a flyover by two F-15s coming from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.”
Harden said he what he wants people to take away from the memorial service is a desire to keep those people who lost their lives in the attacks and afterwards in their memories.
“Just don’t forget. We had a lot of Americans, a lot of really good people, die that day. Don’t forget them, and keep them in your prayers, at least on that day. Keep in the back of your mind. It was ten years ago, but I can remember how I felt on the day it happened,” Harden said. “It was a bad day, a bad month, and a bad year, but that event did unify our country.”
For Hart, the memorial service demonstrates the unity of the Pack community, even though a decade has passed since the attacks on Sept. 11.
“I’m so happy we’re able to take a moment here at N.C . State to reflect and grieve together as a nation on that day, because I’m sure we could all remember that day very clearly,” Hart said.
Benny Suggs , director of the N.C . State Alumni Association and former United States Navy flag officer and pilot, is slated to speak at the ceremony. She said the service is meant to honor all members of the Pack community who have devoted their lives to the protection of others.
“The way I feel is this great University is providing so many people with so many opportunities for so long, and this is an appropriate memorial. It is fitting to use this special day Sunday to honor those who perished on 9/11—all those folks who have served so honorably and so well and have paid such a price, including their families, since 9/11,” Suggs said. “We’re using this to not only recognize those individuals, but all those N.C . State graduates and people with N.C . State connections who have served our country and community so well since our founding in 1887. It’s part of the fabric of who we are and as a great University.”
Suggs said while the event will be on the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, he hopes attendees will take the time to not only remember those who lost their lives that day, but to those who lost them serving the country, and to those who continue to serve.
“[9/11] was a tragic day, but so many people have done so much and given so much since. This event is going to be one of tremendous respect and gratitude to all those alumni and people with N.C . State connections who have served our country well, and we are going to use the afternoon of 9/11 to honor them at our memorial Bell Tower,” Suggs said. “And I can’t think of a better place to do it.”
