Retired Fire Department Major Chris Fields Calls for “September 12 People" at Pepperdine’s 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony

Pepperdine University held its 19th annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony on September 11, 2026, on Alumni Park against the backdrop of nearly 3,000 flags, each representing a life lost as a result of the 2001 terrorist attacks. In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the attacks and in recognition of the sacrifices of first responders, Chris Fields, a retired Oklahoma City Fire Department major, served as the distinguished speaker.

“Twenty-five years have passed since September 11, 2001; those of us who do remember have a responsibility to those who do not,” said Fields during his address. “We have to tell them, not so they inherit the fear, not so they inherit the anger, but so that they inherit our understanding of what courage, sacrifice, faith, and service look like . . . that there can be hope when circumstances tell you there shouldn't be. I know because I've lived it.” 

Attendees listened with intent to Field's message

Fields, who was a first responder to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, received national recognition for an iconic photograph captured of him cradling the body of 1-year-old Baylee Almon following the tragic event. The photo became a nationwide symbol of the devastating loss suffered that day and an emblem of the physical and emotional sacrifice of first responders across the United States.

Fields explained that facing immediate tragedy ultimately manifests into "a before and after." Fields further added, “For most of my life people have seen only that one moment, but I lived everything that came after.”

What came after, Fields remarked, were invisible scars. Yet through these shared scars emerged a powerful sense of community. He urged attendees to consider not only what happened on September 11, but also the profound gestures of compassion and shared humanity that emerged in the days that followed on September 12 and after. It was a time when “strangers embraced one another,” Fields said, while many citizens lined up to donate blood, churches opened their doors, communities brought food to fire and police stations, and neighborhoods across the country displayed American flags and gathered in prayer.

“We shouldn’t need another September 11 to become September 12 people," Fields said. "We shouldn't need another national emergency before we remember that we need each other. Service does not require a uniform.”

Today Fields dedicates his career to supporting first responders facing trauma and suffering from experiences in their career. As the cofounder and cohost of the webinar “Trauma Behind the Badge,” he works to encourage first responders to seek support and avoid shouldering the effects of their experiences alone, in what he calls true courage. 

President Jim Gash

Continuing the discussion of courage, this year’s annual presidential theme, Jim Gash (JD ’93), president and CEO of Pepperdine University, reflected upon the profound expressions of virtue embodied by police officers, firefighters, other first responders, and civilians, who rushed into the World Trade Center to rescue their neighbors—some of them paying the ultimate price. Gash recited John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this—to lay down one's life for one's friends.”

“Today we mourn, we celebrate, we honor the lives of the noble heroes who answered the call to duty, who some 25 years ago followed that call all the way to the end,” said Gash. “As we look out over these flags, we remember the heroes of 9/11. We remember them, and they ask us: Will we do our duty as they did theirs? Will we too lead lives of virtue, even perhaps especially when that virtue is tested? Will we be strong and courageous?”

Gash also referenced C. S. Lewis’s observation that courage is “every virtue at the testing point,” while calling back to the lives of those who demonstrated true courage, faith, hope, and love through acts of selfless service and sacrifice.

Then Gash presented Fields with a flag retired from the Waves of Flags installation in recognition of his service and continued work supporting first responders. The ceremony also recognized Pepperdine alumnus Ryan Sawtelle ('09), who helped establish the Waves of Flags memorial in 2007 and attended this year’s event. 

Fernandez and Fields placing the final flag

Gash concluded by honoring Pepperdine alumnus Thomas E. Burnett Jr., (MBA ’95),  namesake of the University’s Heroes Garden and Sid Fernandez, captain of patrol operations for Pepperdine’s Department of Public Safety. Fernandez is a 25-year veteran of the New York City Police Department who responded to the September 11 attacks and helped secure the perimeter outside Ground Zero.

Prior to Fields’s address, the University’s ceremony featured remarks by Eric Leshinsky, director of student veteran affairs at Pepperdine University and a retired United States Air Force colonel, who described Fields as “a great example of what Americans can do and overcome.”

Dee Dee Mayer, University chaplain, offered the event's invocation, urging attendees to move throughout the rest of this day—and their lives—with renewed hope. Then Seaver College student Madelyn Rempel sang the national anthem and Bailey Steele, current Pepperdine student, US Navy veteran, and PeppVet Council president, led the Pledge of Allegiance as well as a reading of Psalm 23.

As the ceremony came to a close, Nicholson Pipes & Drums performed a traditional rendition of “Amazing Grace” with bagpipes and snare drums. In a final benediction, Sara Jackson (’74),  chancellor of the University, prayed for the loved ones of 9/11 victims, as well as first responders around the nation, who continue to carry the loss of those who died 25 years ago. “We ask you to grant your peace to the family members, friends, and loved ones who still bear the scars of their absence. Comfort them today and every day,” Jackson implored. 

Throughout the remainder of the day, an LED screen on Alumni Park will display the names of each person who perished during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Waves of Flags will remain on display at Alumni Park through September 18, 2026. Members of the public are invited to walk through the memorial and visit the Reflection Station to write a message on the provided note cards and attach them to any flagpole.