NSU hosts Patriot Day event to honor 9/11 victims and heroes

NATCHITOCHES, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Northwestern State University marked the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with a Patriot Day ceremony that began at 7:46 a.m., which was the moment the first plane struck the World Trade Center. 

Flags were lowered to half-staff as Student Government Association President Madysen Morgan of Bossier City called for a moment of silence, followed by the national anthem.

According to a news release from NSU, speakers reflected on the loss of life, the heroism of first responders, and the impact on generations who were not yet born. “On Patriot Day, we honor every life that was taken too soon,” said Reatha Cox, vice president for the Student Experience and dean of Students, in a news release.

According to a news release,  Morgan, whose family members were at Barksdale Air Force Base when President George W. Bush landed there on September 11, said the remembrance is personal. Fellow student Abigail Petermann of Bossier City said her veteran parents made sure she and her peers “grew up never forgetting, even though we weren’t there.”