TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — In an annual ceremony that honors the memory of the 2,977 victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, student organizers placed a flag down on the Mina Jo Powell Alumni Green for every life lost that day.
"It's really a way for us as an FSU community to gather and reflect on the lives lost as well as the sacrifices that our brave service members have made," said organizer Sarah Johnson with the Collegiate Veterans Association and Veterans Student Union at Florida State.
Johnson said the attacks affected her father's military service career-- one of the reasons why she got involved with the association.
"I'm so very thankful for him and all of his fellow service members for the sacrifices they've made and thankful for all that they do for our nation and keep us safe," said Johnson.
Also in attendance at Saturday's ceremony, 20-year-old Tyler Roy who was six months old on September 11, 2001. He said no matter your age when 9/11 happened-- the attack will have a lasting impact on his generation-- and generations after.
"It became the world that we grew up in," said Roy. "It became, how we viewed airports. It's weird because I know that this is the world that I only ever known."
Meagan McLaughlin was only two years old in 2001. She said coming to ceremonies like this humanizes that day.
"We slap labels on things. We attribute numbers to things, but we don't actually really think about the lives of the people behind those labels and those numbers," said McLaughlin.
