W&L Gathers to Honor Fallen in 9/11 Attacks

W&L Gathers to Honor Fallen in 9/11 Attacks The Washington and Lee University community will commemorate the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, with the placing of 2,977 American flags on Stemmons Plaza.

Office of Communications and Public Affairs
September 10, 2025

Washington and Lee University will commemorate the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a community flag event. Members of the W&L community will place 2,977 American flags on Stemmons Plaza, one for each victim of the attacks, and international flags for every country that lost a citizen in the attacks.

Two members of the Washington and Lee family were tragically lost in the 9/11 attacks: Rob Schlegel '85, who died in the Pentagon, and James Gadiel '00, who died in the World Trade Center.

Schlegel was on the staff of the chief of naval operations at the Pentagon and had been promoted to commander just weeks before the attack. Gadiel worked in the equities department of Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center.