Flags memorialize lives lost on 9/11

Catherine Lambrecths, left, & Mary Kotleski at 9-11 display.

They came to plant American flags in the drought-hardened earth outside the UW-Parkside Student Center. Thousands of flags; one for each of the 2,998 people whose lives were lost on this date 11 years ago in New York City, Washington, D.C., and a field in western Pennsylvania.

Cory McDannel and Mary Kotleski, members of the Campus Young Republicans, along with graduate Catherine Lambrecths, gathered outside the main entrance to build a memorial to the victims and heroes of September 11, 2001.

"The Young America's Foundation encouraged campuses all across the United States to put out one flag for every person who died on 9/11," said Lambrecths, a  graduate now attending Marquette Law School.

Kotleski, a senior, remembers 9/11 as a "scary and shocking" day for a 10 year old girl attending fourth grade.

"I didn't understand when I first heard the news," Kotleski said while pushing flag sticks into the ground. "Then when I came home it was all over the news. It was kind of shocking."

Lambrecths said the sheet volume of miniature stars and stripes is a powerful reminder of 9/11's magnitude.  

"When they see the number of flags, they'll see how many people 9/11 affected. Just to see that number all in one place, it makes people realize just how big of an event it was," she said.

"It's important not to forget," added Kotleski.

The 9/11 flag display can be seen on the Student Center lawn through Friday, Sept. 14, 2012.

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Story Status: Archived
Publish date: 9/10/2012

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