Syracuse University’s 2006 Remembrance Scholars paid their solemn respects Friday to the students who lost their lives in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

On December 21, 1988, 270 people were killed in the terrorist attack. Thirty-five of them were SU students returning from a semester abroad in Europe.

The ceremony began at 2:03 – the exact time the plane went down in Lockerbie, Scotland 18 years ago – with a haunting rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’ from the bells in Crouse College. The crowd then watched in silence as the scholars made a somber procession from the Hall of Languages to the Wall of Remembrance.

In addition to family members of the scholars and victims, SU faculty, staff and students, representatives from Cornell University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Air Force ROTC, The Daily Orange and the Black Celestial Choir were present to pay their respects.

The Wall of Remembrance, situated directly in front of the Hall of Languages, bears the names of the 35 students who lost their lives.

‘We walk the pathway to and from this memorial daily,’ said Thomas Wolfe, dean of Hendricks Chapel in his address to those gathered. ‘It is impossible to pass this wall without reflecting even for a moment.’

Lockerbie Scholars Adam Brooks and Joanna Graham spoke of the importance of the relationship between Lockerbie, Scotland and SU that has grown since 1988.

‘Through the most tragic of circumstances, a wonderful relationship has flourished between Syracuse and Lockerbie,’ Graham said.

Each of the 35 Remembrance Scholars spoke about the lives and characteristics of one of the 35 students who was killed and placed a red rose among the white carnations on the Wall of Remembrance in his or her memory.

It was made clear by those who spoke that the emphasis was not on the way in which the students died, but rather on the lessons that can be learned from the lives they led.

Descriptions of those killed were warm and personal. Many students were described as adventurous, caring and talented. Some were remembered for the way he or she smiled, laughed or danced through life and some for their athleticism or sense of humor.

In his speech, Michael James Tumolo, an economics and public affairs major and 2006 Remembrance Scholar, called the 35 students who died ‘heroes.’

‘They have left us such a great example,’ he said. ‘We need to take our memories forward and live life to its fullest. To the families of the victims: your loved ones will never be forgotten.’

‘The scholars symbolize hope and life,’ Wolfe said. ‘Our existence will not be defined by tragedy.’

Published on November 5, 2006 at 12:00 pm