The Yard’s flagpole was at half-mast on Friday as dozens of Howard faculty, staff and students gathered in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Military and Veterans’ Services (OMVS) observed the historic anniversary through a three-day campaign grounded in the message “Honoring the Past, Inspiring a United Future.” The events featured informational tabling centered on the attacks and service volunteering, and culminated in a formal ceremony.
Bryanna Whitehead, a junior international affairs major from Memphis, Tennessee, helped plan the week as an OMVS team member. She said the logistics of the projects were intensive, but she felt proud witnessing the support for veterans, especially as the daughter of a Navy veteran.
“I think to plan something of this magnitude, especially for it to be on the 25th anniversary, was a really big deal,” Whitehead said.
She said throughout the preparation she learned about an alum killed during the Sept. 11 attacks — Maj. Clifford L. Patterson, Jr.
Patterson graduated from Howard as a distinguished military student in 1991. He received his bachelor’s degree in finance and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry Corps, the main land combat force responsible for defeating or capturing enemy ground forces.
His awards and decorations included the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal. Patterson was one of 184 people to lose their lives at the Pentagon on Sept. 11 and was married with two sons.
“Every single day, I feel like I’m becoming more and more part of a legacy, [of] a very resilient and strong people,” Whitehead said.
Each day of remembrance included a service-related activity.
On Sept. 9, Howard volunteers created care packages to be delivered to Access Housing, Inc. Southeast Veterans Service Center, an unhoused veterans support organization. The following day, over 100 volunteers transported the care packages, prepared and served meals and assisted with on-site maintenance at Access Housing, Inc D.C. For Sept. 11, participants organized and stocked campus food pantries.
Students attending the Sept. 10 day of service would be given an “opportunity to serve alongside veterans, learn from their experiences, and put Howard’s values of service, sacrifice and community into action,” the event description said.
Whitehead said these initiatives took resilience and determination.
In a statement released by Access Housing, Inc., D.C.’s Chief Operating Officer Clifton Lewis said that following the service day, the organization believes, “this experience will inspire [Howard students] to become lifelong advocates, champions and voices for veterans and vulnerable communities.”
The organization viewed students’ engagement with veterans as essential to understanding that their homelessness is unrepresentative of their service.
“Behind each and every story is a man or woman who answered the call to serve our nation and deserves the opportunity to live like we do…with dignity, stability and hope,” the statement said.
According to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimate, approximately 213 veterans in the District of Columbia were homeless in 2024.
“”Today, the students served. Tomorrow, they will lead, and throughout their careers, we hope they will continue to champion those who once served us all,” the statement said.
The humanitarian efforts led up to the Sept. 11 Day of Remembrance ceremony on The Yard. Beginning with a Howard jazz band performance and the presentation of colors, the program was elevated by Col. LaJohnne A.W. Morris’ keynote address.
Colonel Morris, a 1998 Howard alumna, pursued a lifetime of service in the U.S. Army. She was stationed in South Korea in 1999 before ultimately beginning as an associate judge on the branch’s Court of Criminal Appeals in Virginia, where she has served since 2022.
Following tributes to the victims of Sept. 11 and the crash sites, the event transitioned to the campus Veteran Resource Center for a luncheon.
Damir Henry, a junior political science and sociology double major from Middletown, Delaware, said as an Air Force ROTC cadet, Morris’ remarks were significant to him.
“Just imagining, ‘What if it was my Major that I see every single day?’ I would genuinely be distraught,” Henry said as he recalled Morris’ story of Patterson’s death at the Pentagon.
Henry said the ceremony caused a moment of introspection about the terrorist attacks and how the United States carried forward and changed.
Through the remembrance, Henry realized that Sept. 11 transcended politics and borders.
“It’s a lot bigger than just ‘it’s a military thing,’ or ‘it’s just an American thing,’ or ‘it’s just politics,’” said Henry, before identifying what he found most tragic about the attacks: the lives lost. “They’re actually just real-life, day-to-day people.”
Copy edited by Daryl R. Thomas Jr.