Hendricks Chapel Dean Brian Konkol stood in front of the Remembrance Wall near the Hall of Languages as “Amazing Grace” rang out from the Crouse College chimes. He delivered a memorial statement to a small group of people who had gathered around the Place of Remembrance.

“On that day it seemed our future was stolen,” Konkol said during the memorial statement. “Here at Syracuse University we lost a generation. Thirty-five young lives lost before their potential and possibility could be realized.”

Thirty years ago on Dec. 21, Pan Am Flight 103 was passing over Lockerbie, Scotland when a bomb in the cargo hold exploded. All 259 passengers were killed, and 11 people on the ground were killed as the plane crashed. A remembrance service was held Friday at the Remembrance Wall, which included prayers, reflections and a reading of the names of the 35 SU students who were returning from a semester abroad in London and Florence, Italy.

Konkol spoke of healing, creating progress in society and moving forward in the aftermath of tragedy.

“We cannot change the past, but we can change the future,” he said. “Indeed we must change the future.”

The service began in the Hendricks Chapel Nobel Room at 2:03 p.m., the exact time of the bombing, then moved to the Wall of Remembrance, created in 1990 as a physical memorial for the tragedy. Each year a service is held at the memorial in the fall, and again in December.

Konkol, after the service had ended, said the annual act of remembrance is a reminder that members of the Syracuse community remain connected.

“We’re not going to forget the tragedy, we’re not going to forget sorrow, we’re not going forget greif,” Konkol said. “That yearly rhythm of coming to remember this is an incredibly important part of the fabric of this community.”

Service attendee Martha Alderman Boyer lost her sister and her sister’s husband, Paula and Glenn Bouckley, in the bombing. The partners were on their way back from attending a wedding in England when the bombing occurred.

Boyer, who has visited the Wall of Remembrance almost every year since its creation but came to her first remembrance service on Friday, said after the service that it was comforting to see that many people were in attendance. She said it was meaningful when people showed that they haven’t forgotten and continue to mention the names of those she lost.

After giving the memorial statement, Konkol called for a moment of silence, which concluded the service. Attendees lingered after the service was over, and some placed flowers on the memorial.

Families of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103 and representatives from SU also gathered on Friday for a separate service at the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Published on December 22, 2018 at 5:47 pm

Contact India: irmiragl@syr.edu