VINCENNES, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and volunteers of Vincennes University gathered Tuesday evening in advance of the 21st anniversary of 9/11.
A 21 gun salute was given and 3,000 flags were placed on Vincennes University’s campus representing victims of the 9/11 attacks. Even though most of the students who were there were not alive during the attack, they still understand the importance of honoring this day.
“I feel as if it’s our duty to remember the lives that we’re lost and how it brought America into a union like it did,” Aynsley Miller said.
VU’s Homeland Security and Public Safety Program Chair Louis Caprino was a FBI agent in New York City for ten years. He was with his family in Australia at the time of the attack.
“It was about 10 o’ clock at night and I saw a plane hit the building. And I’m thinking, that’s weird. And then when the second plane hit it become abundantly clear that it was in fact a terrorist attack,” Caprino said.
Even though Caprino was in Australia at the time he still had a lot of involvement with leads that were generated from the result of the attack.
“It was just a different world for all of us in the FBI, in law enforcement, and in America obviously,” Caprino said.
Along with the memorial, VU’s Homeland Security program also dedicates an entire semester to learning about international terrorism.
The university plans to remember 9-11 for years to come. Those involved want to keep the memories alive so that other generations never forget what took place.
“We have to remain vigilant. We have to be prepared and aware the fact that something like this could certainly happen again,” Caprino said.
If anyone would like to visit this memorial you can do so by visiting Vincennes University’s campus at the field located across from the VU police department behind Clark Hall.
