Pepperdine University to Host Annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony

On Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at 9 AM, the Pepperdine community will gather at Alumni Park on the Malibu campus for a remembrance ceremony honoring the lives lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon 23 years ago. The 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony will be a time to reflect on the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and ensure that the examples of compassion, bravery, and solidarity demonstrated across the country in the following days and months remain at the forefront of our collective consciousness.

This year the University will welcome musician, actor, author, and speaker Pat Boone to the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony, who will serve as the distinguished honoree. The ceremony will also feature remarks from president Jim Gash and reflections and readings by other members of the Pepperdine community. 

Attendees are invited to walk through the Waves of Flags display, which features nearly 3,000 flags representing each innocent victim, including a national flag for each foreign country that lost a citizen in the attack, prior to or following the ceremony to pay tribute to the lives lost with prayer and reflection. All attendees as well as members of the public are also invited to visit the Reflection Station to write messages of reflection and remembrance on the provided cards and attach them to any flagpole. 

Many people have left their mark on American popular culture, but perhaps no one has done so for as long as Pat Boone, whose show-business career is now in its eighth decade. Boone has held many roles throughout his illustrious career, including pop musician and movie idol to author, speaker, and spreader of the Gospel. 

Boone rose to fame in the 1950s as a singer, covering songs such as “Ain’t That a Shame” by Fats Domino and “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard. He then starred in movies such as April Love (1957) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959). More than 25 of Boone’s singles reached the top 20 on the US singles charts. After he transitioned from recording pop to recording gospel music, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2003. 

Boone and his beloved late wife, Shirley, also cherished the titles of parents of four, grandparents of 16, and great-grandparents of 17. Their dedication to family and their desire to see other couples and families blessed with the same loving relationships they enjoyed led them in 2006 to make a transformative gift to establish the Pat and Shirley Boone Center for the Family at Pepperdine. The Boone Center for the Family has had a transformative impact on the relational and emotional health of individuals, couples, churches, Christian schools and universities, and other ministries. Boone also serves as co-chair of Pepperdine’s University Board and is a tireless advocate for the University’s Christian mission. 

For more information, visit the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony registration website.