Hillsdale College Student Group, Hillsdale Academy Remember 9/11 with American Legion Post #53
The College organized a march to the American Legion and a flag display to commemorate 9/11
Hillsdale, Mich. — Hillsdale College, along with student group Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) and Hillsdale Academy, took part in a ceremony at American Legion Post #53 in Hillsdale on the morning of Sept. 11. The American Legion’s Never Forget Ceremony included a 5K race, flag display, poetry recitation, and speeches, among other events commemorating the events of 9/11 twenty years ago.
Chief Jeffery Rogers, associate dean of men at the College, marched with approximately 100 students from the campus’s Civil War statue to American Legion Post #53, stopping just before the sidewalks end in town to ride a College bus the final few blocks.
“It was a really nice, well-attended event,” said Rogers. “The students placed 2,977 flags on a hill near the American Legion to commemorate the 2,977 innocent lives lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.”
Hillsdale College’s YAF chapter created the flag display as part of YAF’s nationwide “9/11 Never Forget Project.”
“Because our generation grew up after 9/11, it is vitally important that we take time each year to remember what happened so that this doesn’t just become another date in a history textbook,” said David Swegle, secretary of Hillsdale’s YAF chapter. “We were honored to help commemorate this solemn day by creating a fitting tribute for those who lost their lives.”
The event included a speech by Dr. Peter Jennings, associate professor of management and Brouwer D. and Jane E. McIntyre Chair in Business Administration at Hillsdale College. Hillsdale College graduate Rep. Andrew Fink, ’06, also spoke.
Students from Hillsdale Academy recited a poem about the flag, and Chief Rogers led the crowd of over 300 people in singing “God Bless America.” The Academy students also helped fold the flag, and a wreath was laid. The ceremony ended with a 21-gun salute.
Community members and the local fire department took part in the 5K, the latter group running in full gear. The ceremony was timed to coincide with the original timeline of the attacks 20 years ago.
Find event photos here.