Students at Oregon Institute of Technology will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001 by honoring those who lost their lives as a result of the attacks. Students will place 3,027 American flags around the campus fountain, one flag for every victim of the attacks. Each flag will bear a hand-written name of one of the victims. The flags will go on display, Sunday, September 11, 2011.
The memorial is the idea of Daniel Helmricks, a senior from Newport, Oregon who is majoring in geomatics at Oregon Tech. Helmricks is also the president of the university’s student government association, the Associated Students of OIT (ASOIT). Helmricks was only a sixth grader when the attacks occurred in 2001, but like most Americans, the images from that day are firmly etched in his memory.
“What hit home for me on September 11, 2001 was watching the firefighters running in to the building to help those who were in the towers. Several members of my family are professional or volunteer firefighters here in Oregon, and if we lived in New York, that could have been members of my family running into the towers. I really felt for all the families who lost a loved one that day,” commented Helmricks. “Those images have stayed with me all these years. This project was just my small way of honoring those who lost their lives and their families.”
Helmricks purchased the flags himself and hand-wrote every name on the flags. Other members of ASOIT will help him place the flags around the fountain on the eve of the anniversary.
“Although Daniel was young, he remembers the impact of the 9/11 pictures and videos. He has come up with such a great idea that I’m positive the experience and the photos of this display will have a powerful impact on viewers. I look forward to experiencing his display as well as seeing how others react to it,” stated Erin Foley, Ph.D., Dean of Students at Oregon Tech.
The flags will remain on view until September 14th. The public is invited to come view the flags and pay homage to the victims of September 11, 2001.
About Oregon Tech
Founded in Klamath Falls in 1947, Oregon Institute of Technology is one of seven institutions in the Oregon University System, and the only public institute of technology in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Tech provides degree programs in engineering and health technologies, management, communications and applied sciences that prepare students to be effective participants in their professional, public and international communities through hands-on learning. Oregon Tech’s main campus is in Klamath Falls; other sites are located in Portland, Salem, La Grande and Seattle. Visit www.oit.edu to learn more about Oregon Institute of Technology.
