Remembering the 12 -- Aggie Bonfire Tribute

Nine years ago today, the headlines in the paper and on the national news read, "Student Bonfire Falls." In the early morning hours on November 18, 1999, Aggie Bonfire collapsed killing 12 students and injuring 27 more. The events of that day will forever be etched into my memory.

I'll never forget leaving the Bonfire stack just 2 hours before it fell with great pride in my university and what it embodied. I'll never forget the early morning wake up call explaining the stack had fallen and the calls that would come from family and friends. I'll never forget seeing the fallen stack for the first time and the heartbreak I felt. I'll never forget meeting Miranda Adams' parents, later finding out she was one of the 12 victims, and then meeting them again 5 years later standing in her portal of the Bonfire memorial. I'll never forget the campus wide memorial service that night at Reed Arena and the entire student body joining arms and singing Amazing Grace acapella. I'll never forget how the Aggie family (past, present, and future) rallied around each other and supported each other during this tough time in the university's history. I'll never forget the candlelight service on campus the night Bonfire was supposed to burn and Jeff Bailey reciting the Last Corps Trip during midnight yell practice. I'll never forget the A&M vs. Texas football game that year and the tremendous show of sportsmanship and support that the University of Texas showed as tragedy shook the Texas A&M campus. And most of all, I'll never forget those 12 students who lost their lives that morning doing something they loved.

Texas A&M has many traditions that look "weird" or "different" to the outside world. Bonfire was one of those traditions. It was a tradition that embodied what it means to be an Aggie. It brought the Aggie family together. And today, I stop to remember and reflect on that day nine years ago.

Here is a video remembering the day and the 12 Aggies who lost their lives.