Seven years later, campus political groups, military officials and University of Wisconsin community members remembered the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 at a memorial and candlelight vigil Thursday evening.
The vigil was held at the bottom of Bascom Hill, where 2,977 flags had been placed earlier in the day to honor each of the victims of the attacks. Attendees joined in singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Pastor Rick Lund then led attendees in a non-denominational prayer.
The event was coordinated by both College Republicans and College Democrats, a rare sign of partnership mirrored earlier in the day at the site of the United 93 crash in Shanksville, Pa. when presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain appeared together.
UW senior Mike Seaman attended the event to honor those lost.
“I just wanted to pay homage to the men and women whose lives were taken that day,” Seaman said. “It was a sad day. It was a hard day as an American to see that happen on our soils and in our cities.”
Prior to the vigil, a memorial was held in the Social Sciences building that featured a slideshow of the pictures and sounds from the day.
Speakers included former Sergeants Jim Hanson and Jeremiah Workman, who fought in 2004 and 2005 in Fallujah and surrounding Iraqi cities.
Workman told war stories and remembered visiting Iraq in September 2007, where he said conditions improved despite the lack of coverage by the television news stations.
“I spent a week there, never heard one gunshot, water’s running, electricity is on,” Workman said. “I think the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that Iraqi policy and military had started to stand up.”
Hanson, a political pundit who has appeared on CNN and Fox News, reminded attendees Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government were not connected to the Sept. 11 attacks.
But he also used the chance to plead with the young people present, saying they needed to find a way to coexist with Islamic extremists.
“The answer just can’t be that we’re going to kill you,” Hanson said. “That’s a simple way to look at things, and it’s not very effective for the long run.”
About 50 people attended the event, but the crowd was dwarfed in the large confines of 6210 Social Sciences.
Claire Rydell, chair of College Democrats, said she was relatively happy with the turnout.
“I would have liked to have seen a few more people, but it was actually pretty good, considering it’s a very busy time of the semester,” Rydell said.
Kristin Wall, vice chair of College Republicans, said she was satisfied with the turnout and said the group plans to “keep the tradition going for a long, long time.”
Check out the online video of the Sept. 11 memorial.
