Flags Honoring 9/11 Victims, Moment of Silence Planned as UCM Observes Patriot Day on Sept. 11 at the Quadrangle

In preparation for Patriot Day, Sept. 11, University of Central Missouri ROTC Fighting Mules Battalion and DET 440 Air Force ROTC cadets, along with staff and students from the Military and Veterans Success Center, placed 2,977 flags on the quadrangle honoring each individual who perished during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that have continued to impact the nation. 

WARRENSBURG, MO – In memory of those who lost their lives during the worst terrorist attack on United States soil, the University of Central Missouri is planning the Patriot Day Moment of Silence event beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11 at the quadrangle. 

The observance, which is expected to last approximately 15 minutes, is coordinated by the Office of Military and Veterans Services at UCM in cooperation with the Warrensburg Fire Department and UCM’s Army ROTC Fighting Mules Battalion. All interested individuals on campus and in the community are welcome to attend.

Courtney Swoboda, director of military and veterans services, will kick off the event with brief remarks. Mmembers of the Fire Department will conduct the ringing of the bell ceremony in memory of those first responders who died on Sept. 11, 2001, when the United States suffered terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the hijacking and crash of a passenger airplane in a Pennsylvania field. Nearly 3,000 individuals, including passengers in four hijacked airplanes, individuals in buildings struck by three of those aircraft, and front-line people who tried to save others, perished during events that took place that day.

Joining public and private colleges and universities and other institutions across the nation, UCM has annually conducted an observance in memory of those whose lives were lost, and in honor of the heroes who emerged during the horrific 9/11 events. Small U.S. flags have been placed on the west side west of the quadrangle flagpole by the UCM Army ROTC Fighting Mules Battalion and DET 440 Air Force ROTC cadets as a way to honor those who died on this date 22 years ago.