UDC Remembers Tragedies of 9/11 at Memorial Ceremony

Capt. Angelena C. Garland recalls how she learned about the September 11 terrorist attacks when she was a child in 2001.

UDC community members gathered outside the Student Center on September 11 to pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the coordinated terrorist attack on U.S. soil that took nearly 3,000 lives in 2001.

Speakers included Interim Chief of Student Development and Success Trelaunda Beckett-Jones, Ed.D., Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz, President Maurice D. Edington, Ph.D., and keynote speaker Capt. Angelena C. Garland.

Garland recounted how the day unfolded for her 22 years ago. At the time, she was 10 and learned about the attacks when her mother called home after school to tell her to put the TV on. She watched in shock as smoke billowed from the Twin Towers in New York.

“We won’t forget. We will never forget, but we know how to move forward,” Garland said. “That’s what we’ve been doing, and that’s what we will continue to do.”

In 2001, Schwartz served as Director of the National Security Incident Response at Fort Meade, and as a National Guardsman, he helped navigate the military response on 9/11 as a continued threat of attack hung over the DC area. Schwartz recalled how two Air National Guard pilots hopped in their jets and flew over the Pentagon to protect it from further attack, noting their willingness to go on a “suicide mission” should they have to take down United Flight 93, which ultimately went down in a Pennsylvania field.

“That’s what soldiers, airmen, Marines, sailors are all about. We are selfless in what we do. Mission-first,” Schwartz said. “And I am so proud of the individuals who sacrificed their lives. The 3,000 that were lost during this event, their families, their loved ones and everyone who supported them—may we never forget.”

In his remarks, Edington shared the story of Andrea Doctor, an Associate Professor of Nursing at UDC Community College. In 2001, she lost her husband, Johnnie Doctor, Jr., in the attack on the Pentagon. They were both UDC students at the time, raising two young children in the District. In the years after Johnnie’s death, Andrea said she relied on his strength to keep her moving forward.

Her experience, Edington said, was one of the many stories of resilience we experienced throughout the region and the nation following the attacks.

“As we reflect on this dark day, let us not forget how we came together—as a country and a community—to move through the darkness by harnessing that light of resilience,” he said.