Harper To Commemorate Sept. 11 Anniversary

The placement of 2,819 small American flags, one for each life lost on September 11, 2001, is part of a remembrance at Harper College at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, September 8, in the courtyard near the Blue Reflecting Pool, outside Buildings I and J, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine.

Harper students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to place the flags in the area marked off during the Musical Prelude at 12:15 p.m. and at 1 p.m. after the program, a press release from the college states.

Justin McDermott, Harper Student Trustee and U.S. Army veteran of the 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, who served 15 months in Iraq, will officiate as Master of Ceremonies.

"I’m here to support the memory of those who died that day, and equally, to support those who lived through that day,” McDermott said in a press release.

McDermott is a 2002 graduate of James B. Conant High School. He is a double major in Business and Information Technology.

Also speaking will be Maham Kahn, an alumnus of Harper College and former student leader, who graduated in 2003, and was on campus when the hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center, according to the press release.

A former president of the Harper Muslim Student Association, Kahn will speak about, “10 Years and Counting: Reflections since 9/11.”

The program will be interspersed with reflections and readings, including “Fallen First Responders," by Paul LeBreck, deputy chief, Harper police, a former Palatine police officer who visited Ground Zero and spoke with emergency personnel soon after the tragedy; and a poem entitled “On the Ninety-Ninth Floor” read by Anne Davidovich, professor, Liberal Arts.  Dr. Ken Ender, president, Harper College, will speak about “9/11: Ten Years Later.”

The Cathedral Brass Quintet, a traditional brass ensemble, will perform the “Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful.” The program is open to the public; parking is most convenient in Lot #5 or #6.