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Belton, Texas – On Friday, September 11, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor campus hosted two special tributes to the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Members of the UMHB chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas planted 2,977 flags in honor of every person who lost their lives as the result of the attacks. The small flags covered the ground in front of Luther Memorial. The display included signs with information for visitors.
In the afternoon, the College of Visual and Performing Arts held a special Salute to America event inside Crusader Stadium. It featured performances from UMHB’s Blackshirt Cru Spirit Band, Sader Belles, and Wind and Brass Ensembles.
“Although that was a devastating day in 2001, it was also a day that united our country in patriotism, and it reminded us of how important our freedoms are,” Michael Garasi, director of the UMHB Brass Ensemble, Wind Ensemble and the Blackshirt Cru Spirit Band, said.
Cadet Stone Klingaman of the UMHB Army ROTC offered a short invocation before the presentation of colors and a performance of the Star Spangled Banner. Afterward, Miguel Rivera, an Army veteran and member of the UMHB band, led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance.
Jason Palmer, Dean of Spiritual Life and University Chaplain, offered some remarks. Palmer served in the military for 25 years before coming to UMHB. He recalled his experience as a young soldier on the morning of September 11, 2001.
“I will never forget seeing the group of officers with whom I was training, few of whom would have described themselves as people of faith, stopping everything and asking a Christian classmate of ours to lead the class in a prayer for our nation,” Palmer said.
Since that fateful day, Palmer has visited the site of the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and the crash site of United 93 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
“Those three sites remind me of how my God wrapped His arms around a hurting nation and gave us the courage to stand together as one,” Palmer said. “What united us 19 years ago is sufficient to unite us still in 2020, a fresh appreciation for our common brokenness and our need of a Savior.”
Palmer closed his remarks by encouraging the students in attendance to care for one another and the members of their community.
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