Remembering friends
CAMPUS LIFE
Today we remember our alumni who lost their lives in the attacks of September 11, 2001: David B. Brady (1982), Thomas R. Clark (1986), Michael B. Finnegan (1986), and Donald T. Jones (1984).
In 2002, four benches were placed in the Gumenick Quadrangle around the fountain outside of Maryland Hall to honor their memory, and each year the University's Alumni Association lays flowers on the benches in recognition of these cherished members of the Spider family.
@urichmond Today, we remember and honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost on 9/11, including four of our own Spiders. ❤️💙🕷️ Thank you to University of Richmond #ArmyROTC for hosting this commemorative and reflective event for our community. #neverforget #september11th #URichmond
♬ original sound - University of Richmond
This year, the Richmond Reserve Officers’ Training Corps began a new memorial ceremony. They invited the UR community to take a lap around the Gumenick Quadrangle, then place a sticker beside the name of one of the 2,977 lives lost on September 11.
"The goal for the 9/11 memorial ceremony was to provide a venue for the university to remember and reflect on those lost on that tragic day," said Lt. Col. Jake Turner, department chair of military science and leadership for the Richmond ROTC program. "This memorial ceremony is also an opportunity to remember the dedicated service and sacrifice of the police officers, firefighters, and emergency first responders who gave their lives in the efforts to save their fellow citizens."
Most current students were not yet born when the planes hit the World Trade Center's Twin towers and the Pentagon, and crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
"9/11 is an event that shaped our country and the wider world," said Turner. "It is important for our Cadets to understand this event as well as reflect on the service and sacrifice exhibited on that day as they go on to lead and serve as commissioned officers in the U.S. Army."