BEAUFORT, S.C. () — Today marks another year of remembrance for the September 11th attacks. In Beaufort, one school and teacher are ensuring that students not only honor those lost. Throughout the day Thursday, they are making sure students understand the weight of the history.
Early Thursday morning, students lined up outside Beaufort Academy with American flags in their hands. Throughout the day, classes of students will take turns helping to plant flags outside their school in honor of those lost during 9/11. As the sun rose, students began the careful work of planting each flag along Sam’s Point Road, a display visible to drivers and neighbors throughout the day.
Behind the tradition is a passionate teacher who has been teaching hundreds of students about 9/11 while planting flags for years. David Byrne, a U.S. History teacher at Beaufort Academy, says the tradition began when a parent donated thousands of flags, which inspired the memorial.
“The farther we get away from 9/11, I think the more important it is for the kids to remember and to think about their perception of what happened on 9/11. Today is really focused more on what they see scrolling quick reels, and they see the horror, but they don’t understand the sacrifice,” said Byrne.
What began as a small tribute more than two decades ago has grown into a powerful movement of reflection for the entire school. If you drive past the school, you can see row after row of American flags lined perfectly in place outside of Beaufort Academy. There will be 3,000 flags waving to represent the lives lost on September 11th, 2001. For students, this is more than just tradition… it’s a lesson to never forget.
Among the students planting flags was Emma Cox, a freshman at Beaufort Academy. This is her second year participating in the tradition, and she believes she and her friend had planted at least 200 flags Thursday.
“I think it’s really important to them (the faculty) to show that, like we do understand what happened that day and we do care, and we do want to represent all the people who lost their lives. I think it’s just a good thing to do,” explained Cox.
Teachers use the day not just to remember, but to teach. Helping students born years after 9/11 to grasp its lasting impact
“I think just it’s important for us as Americans to not forget this event and looking at the causes, the effects, and making connections to today such as the continued war and conflict in Gaza and Israel,” said Byrne.
