On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, girls lacrosse coach Jayne Chapman was dropping off her sons Thomas and Will at Palma Ceia Methodist preschool. Her best friend from law school, who typically worked in one of the Twin Towers, had not gone in early that morning to care for her sick daughter.  

Chapman was chatting with the other mothers in the parking lot, enjoying the clear day when someone walked out of the preschool’s office with the news –  a plane had struck the tower.  

“It’s one of those memories I think for everyone that is seared – like where you were, what were you doing – when you heard [the news],” Chapman said.  

As the group was trying to process this information, the second plane hit.  

“I think it’s just for everyone something you can’t even grasp,” Chapman said. “People I know have seen footage of the towers getting hit, on fire and all that, but to watch that – and then it hit the Pentagon, then the plane went down in Philidelphia – just was scary … it changed everything.” 

Will Chapman, who was almost two at the time of the tragedy, was a class of 2018 Plant graduate. A vast majority of students currently enrolled in school were either not alive or were too young to understand the reality of the events taking place on Sept. 11, 2001.  

“Earlier generations knew exactly where they were when President Kennedy got shot,” Chapman said. “This was our President Kennedy event. There was no one who wasn’t feeling it as the horror, and tragedy, it was.” 

Yet, despite this generational gap, sophomore Caroline Patterson, along with the support of her lacrosse team and other Plant programs, created a memorial to recognize the horror of a day she wasn’t alive for.  

Inspired by her siblings, who organized similar memorials at their schools in North Carolina, Patterson wanted to start something to bring together everyone at Plant. Outback sponsored the project, paying for the flags and bringing snacks to the students who were volunteering to help set up. 

“It’s something that everyone can come together and do, that doesn’t matter if you’re a democrat or republican, no politics included, just … a memorial for those who served and people who passed away during a terrible event that occurred,” Patterson said. “You saw [the memorial] and were like ’wow’.” 

Miniature American flags covered the grassy area surrounding the flagpole at the front of the school, each one representing a life lost – all 2,996 of them. The golf, cheer, football and lacrosse teams placed the flags. 

“I put out lots of flags with my teammates and it felt really good to be able to do something to help people that I couldn’t have helped at the time of the tragedy,” junior lacrosse player Heather McGeachy said. “The most meaningful part to me was that most of the people putting out flags were not alive or incredibly young when Sept. 11 happened, but they still showed up because of how tragic and impactful Sept. 11 was, and I think that speaks to people’s humanity in this day and age where we don’t see a lot of love all the time.” 

JROTC members also assisted the teams and lowered the flag to half-staff during the ceremony Tuesday.  

“My father and my uncle were in the air force, and my grandfather was in the army,” senior Jaden Sanders, who helped plant flags, said. “Me being in JROTC, it felt like the right thing to do.” 

The Pink Panthers a cappella group performed the national anthem along with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” at the ceremony, moving some to tears. 

“We were asked to perform by the coach of the girls lacrosse team and we just wanted to add something special to the already beautiful ceremony,” Pink Panthers member and junior Artemis Xenick said. “It was such a touching experience to get to honor all the lives lost.” 

Patterson detailed the group’s singing as the most impactful part of the ceremony for her personally.  

“People were bawling and crying while they were singing because it made such an impact on their lives,” Patterson said. “My uncle’s best friend and my dad’s best friend, he passed away. He was working during that time and he saved 30 people, but then couldn’t save himself.” 

Football coach and teacher Robert Weiner lost a loved one in the attacks and brought the football team to assist with the memorial.  

“It’s an important day for me to pass along the message to my players the best I possibly can,” Weiner said. “But then also to support our girls lacrosse team and all the sports coming together to do something that was purposeful together.  I thought that it was really important that we be a small part in it and support them the best we could in something that was an important effort.” 

Next year, Patterson will continue the memorial, but instead of only placing the flags, Patterson aims to add the names of those deceased onto ribbons attached to the flags in honor.