W&L Gathers to Honor Fallen in 9/11 Attacks The Washington and Lee University community will commemorate the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, with a memorial service and the placing of 2,977 American flags on Cannan Green.

By W&L News Office
September 6, 2023

Washington and Lee University will commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a community flag event and memorial service.

Two members of the Washington and Lee family were tragically lost in the 9/11 attacks: Rob Schlegel ’85, who died in the Pentagon, and James Gadiel ’00, who died in the World Trade Center.

Schlegel was on the staff of the chief of naval operations at the Pentagon and had been promoted to commander just weeks before the attack. Gadiel worked in the equities department of Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center.

Join W&L for a community flag placing on Sunday, Sept. 10, from 5:30-7 p.m. on Cannan Green. Community members will place 2,977 American flags, one for each victim of the attacks, and for the first time ever, international flags will also be planted for every country that lost a citizen in the attacks. Participants may come and go throughout the event. On Monday, Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m., student organizations will host an annual memorial service, beginning with an interfaith prayer gathering on Cannan Green, and followed by a moment of silence, remarks from student leaders, and an orchestral performance from the university’s student musicians. Both events are open to the public.

The events are sponsored by Students for Historical Preservation, College Democrats and College Republicans.