A Day to Remember?

By Shea Healy A memorial service was held at Stonehill College to remember and recognize those fallen on 9/11. Stonehill students gathered at the private service on Donahue Hill in Easton for a memorial service. The attacks began at 8:45 a.m. on September 11, 2001 taking 3,000 lives, including 400 emergency personnel. Two planes flew into the World Trade Center, a third plane hit the Pentagon, and another plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Three Stonehill alumni and one Holy Cross priest were killed in the terrorist attacks; all were mentioned at the service. Timothy Coughlin ’80 and Timothy Reilly ’82 were killed in the World Trade Center and James Hayden ’76 along with Father Francis Grogan, C.S.C were on the flight to Pennsylvania. A welcoming prayer started the service followed by Amazing Grace played on the guitar by a student the group gathered underneath the flagpole Thursday afternoon. Three speakers lead the memorial in different prayers and thought. A moment of silence was given to pray for those affected and for those part of the attack. Those attending the service remained quiet, heads down, taking a moment together to remember the day. Thirty people, hand in hand, said an Our Father to wrap up the service. More faculty members attended than students, at 12 p.m. during a day of classes. The service showed that many people still want to take the time to remember the September 11th attacks. “Not being home in New York on 9/11 is weird for me. In high school it is a huge deal and there are always ceremonies in remembrance of the day,” said Stonehill student Julia Larson, 19, who attended the service. “I personally don’t know anyone that died in the World Trade Center but I know a lot of people who knew people that passed and I will always remember that day. I definitely still think it is remembered in our society today,“ Larson said. People from different places are on the campus and some are more touched by the attack. ROTC has a large presence on the Stonehill campus and many members were walking around in uniform, like any Thursday. “I don’t think people have forgotten about 9/11, last year we had physical training and were running around campus in our uniforms,” Seamus Weldon, 20, a member of ROTC said. “Everyone we passed waved at us and thanked us for our service. Even off campus, people driving beeped or stopped. That proved to me people haven’t forgotten, and it made me proud to be a member of ROTC.”