COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Texas A&M hosted its 25th Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony Monday at 2:42 a.m. to honor the 12 Aggies lost in the Bonfire tragedy in 1999.
- More than 100 Aggies gathered for the 25th Anniversary Bonfire Remembrance Ceremony to honor the 12 students who lost their lives in the 1999 Bonfire stack collapse.
- Attendees engaged in singing, reading poems and lighting candles to remember the victims with eight families of the fallen present.
- Traditions Council Chair of the Bonfire Remembrance Ceremony Truett Marrs says the ceremony celebrates the life and legacy of the Aggies lost and the strength of the Aggie Spirit.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
More than 100 Aggies are gathering at the Bonfire Memorial site to reflect on the Bonfire tragedy in 1999.
This year marks 25 years since the 59-foot Bonfire stack collapsed, killing 12 and injuring 27.
Aggies are singing, reading school poems and lighting candles in honor of those lost.
Chair of the Bonfire Remembrance Ceremony Truett Marrs says eight of the 12's families were in attendance this year, believing this year's ceremony was truly special.
“The ceremony not only honors the legacies of those 12 Aggies who gave their lives to the traditions of our campus, but also is really meant to be symbolic of the camaraderie of the Aggie Spirit, and the fact that regardless of the circumstances, our student body is capable of showing resilience and strength through any event," Marrs said.
The 12 Aggies who lost their lives in the collapse and their respective classes are:
- Miranda Denise Adams, Class of 2002
- Christopher D. Breen, Class of 1996
- Michael Stephen Ebanks, Class of 2003
- Jeremy Richard Frampton, Class of 1999
- Jamie Lynn Hand, Class of 2003
- Christopher Lee Heard, Class of 2003
- Timothy Doran Kerlee Jr., Class of 2003
- Lucas John Kimmel, Class of 2003
- Bryan A. McClain, Class of 2002
- Chad A. Powell, Class of 2003
- Jerry Don Self, Class of 2001
- Nathan Scott West, Class of 2002
