High School Students Remember 9/11

Walnut High School students placed nearly 3,000 American flags in front of the campus to mark the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy.

When students return to school today, they will see the patriotic display and remember that each flag represents a life lost, said officials with the Walnut Valley Unified School District.

The school-wide activity was organized by the Young Republicans Club in partnership with members of the Link Crew and Young Democrats Club.

A group of about a 40 volunteers began the remembrance project after school at 3 p.m. on September 10.

Students placed a total of 2,997 American flags to honor the victims of the nation’s tragedy.

The 100-foot patriotic display spelled out 911, USA, and star with a pentagon inside to represent the three locations of the attacks.

The shapes were outlined and then the volunteers filled them in with 5-inch flags, officials said.

It took about two hours to complete the display for Patriot Day, officials said.

"Many of our students were too young to remember the attack on September 11, 2001, but they can relate because it’s about the same number of students that attend our school," said Brett Landis, history teacher and Young Republicans Club advisor.

Students in the Young Republican’s club conducted a similar memorial for last year's 10th anniversary, officials said.

The response from that was so positive, the club decided to do it again, said senior Eric Wang, the club’s secretary and event co-founder.

“Everyone who saw it last year said it was very good for the community and they were happy about it,” he said.

“It’s good to remember and show people we care,” said Club President Andrew Walayat. The senior is the brother of the project’s co-founder and past president - 2012 graduate Aaron Walayat.

“Even though this isn’t a partisan event, we wanted to represent the Young Democrats here and show that we’re taking an active role on campus, said first-time participant senior Amanda Ong.

“This is really about all representatives of our nation coming together and showing that the students care is really powerful,” said senior Avika Dua.

“It’s really meaningful because to remember the lives that were lost that day and it’s really important that we don’t forget,” said sophomore Timothy Yeung.

And the tens of thousands of Americans that have been affected by the sacrifice of their loved ones to defend freedom on account of what happened that day,” Landis added.

The flags will be taken down at the end of the day.