“This isn’t just a military or first responder event,” said Bill Kawczynski Director of the Office of Military Affairs at UNCW. “9/11 is something that affected everybody.”

Twenty-three years ago, terrorists crashed two American planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and crashed another plane into the Pentagon. A fourth plane was hijacked but thwarted by civilians onboard and crashed in a Pennsylvanian field. Following the attacks, the U.S. military has sent troops into Afghanistan and stricter security measures have been put in place including TSA in American airports. In the summer of 2021, 20 years later, President Biden pulled U.S. troops from the Middle East.

On Wednesday Sept. 11, the Student Veterans Organization (SVO) and the Office of Military Affairs held a commemoration ceremony for the tragic plane crashes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Students, alumni and SVO members attended the ceremony.

To begin the ceremony, the U.S. and N.C. flags waved in the breeze as Jerome Garrison, Vice President of the Office of Military Affairs, sang the National Anthem. Following the presentation of the colors by deputies of New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Kawczynski emphasized how the plane crashes on 9/11 were a definable moment, just as the attack on Pearl Harbor and the assassination of JFK were. He addressed attendees who had lived through 9/11 to remember.

“Moments that cause one to stop,” Kawczynski said. “Reflect, and remember exactly where they were, and what they were doing no matter how fresh a memory or how distant it may seem.”

For Kawczynski who had already served in the Marine Corps, he remembers exactly where he was. “I was standing in Friday Hall here on campus,” Kawczynski said. “Watching the frightful events unfold on the TV screen in the Environmental Studies Department. It was then, that an EVS student came into the office asking what was happening.”

SVO member and Marine Corps veteran Luis Carmona, who was a kid living in Colombia at the time, remembers his mom turning on the news and how tragic and horrifying it was. “I remember her being in shock,” says Luis Carmona. “And me trying to ask, ‘where’s dad? Is dad okay? Is that where dad lives?’ And she did say that is where dad is.”

Kawczynski also addressed those who were not old enough to remember, “It is part of our collective story, part of the fabric of our nation.”

For SVO treasurer Victoria Kelling it wasn’t until she got older that she understood the gravity of 9/11 and its impact on her family. “When I went to New York to visit my aunt,” Kelling says. “We went to the 9/11 Museum and Memorial Service. And it hit me harder seeing all the like the buildings and seeing the videos live, recorded live.”

“My dad lost his best friend that was in the Pentagon,” Kelling says. “And my grandpa watched people jump off the buildings, and my aunt watched people jump off buildings.”

SVO member and Navy veteran, Maloah McCarron, was too young to remember the day but remembers the aftermath. “Growing up hearing the stories of my dad and my mom remembering exactly where they were and exactly what they were doing. It’s heartbreaking to see,” McCarron said. “Going through school and stuff like that. Each year around 9/11 they would you know share videos or have us watch video and listen to audio and it would just break my heart.”

“It was done on civilians,” says Sean Bigger, the Vice President of the SVO. “On people who had nothing to do with what went on in the Middle East, or anywhere around the world.”

Kawczynski closed his address, “As we stand together remember who were lost, we honor those who served and recommit ourselves to never forgetting.”

Following the Office of Military Affairs director was the president of the Student Veterans Organization, Bryan Holman.

“As we remember and recall events following after 9/11 terrorist attack,” Holman said. “We are honoring those who lost their lives in the initial attack, the families who are forever affected by the loss of loved ones, and all the people who have lost their lives and continue to be affected in the ongoing war on terror.”

The courage and heroism of the lives lost to the 9/11 attacks inspired a generation to serve and protect their country. Sitting an hour away from Camp Lejune and two hours from Fort Liberty lies UNCW which was founded to help veterans. Currently, 13% of the population are veterans and military affiliated students. The Office of Military Affairs and Student Veterans Organization supports students in their transition from the U.S. military to their time in higher education.

“The SVO provides a community for veterans,” says Holman. “We do a lot of special gatherings, offer a lot of mental health resources, as well as just a great pool of knowledge.”

Following Holman’s address, at 8:46 a.m., a bell was rung to remember the attack of the North Tower. Not long after, at 9:03 a.m., the bell was rung to remember the collapse of the South Tower.

Concluding the service, Dr. Luebke Brown from the UNCW Music Department performed “Taps.” According to “Taps” historian Jari Villanueva, the song is played at the end of the day on military installations and military funerals. In 2012, Villanueva wrote, “Congress recognized ‘Taps’ as the ‘National Song of Remembrance.’”

Students were encouraged to attend the Office of Military Affairs mid-week breakfast. A weekly tradition that is open to all students at UNCW. As attendees went their separate ways, the words of Kawczynski still ring true:

“It is important we never forget the lessons that it taught us the strength of unity, the power of resiliency, and the enduring spirit of service.”

For anyone who is a veteran or interested learning more about veteran support at UNCW follow the Student Veterans Organization on Instagram.