By Chase Sanders

Surprise, confusion, fear and pain were Americans’ reactions as they found out about the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

The terror that occurred between 8:26 a.m., when the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York, and 10:03 a.m., when the fourth plane crashed in a Shanksville, Pa., field, ended 2,996 lives and changed the course of American history.

One decade later, people across the nation and on UK’s campus prepare to remember those who died on that day. In commemoration of Sept. 11, 2001 special memorial services will take place on campus starting Friday and ending Monday.

Friday at 9 a.m., the UK Pershing Rifles Cadets are holding their annual memorial for the victims and survivors of the attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93.

The event will take place at the flagpole on Administration Lawn until 5 p.m. Members of the ROTC fraternal organization will recite the name of every victim lost in the attacks and represent each of their lives with a miniature American flag in front of the Main Building.

“First and foremost, we want the memorial to honor the victims,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jason Cummins.

He is currently an ROTC instructor at UK. Cummins was directly affected by the 9/11 attacks.

When he realized that America was under attack, Cummins said that as a soldier he had a sense of duty for his country.

Cummins served the U.S. as a soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2005 and 2008.

“The 9/11 generation has lost almost 6,200 soldiers, and I’m proud to say I served alongside them while fighting for our country,” Cummins said.

A national moment of silence will take place across campus at 9:11 a.m. to honor those lost in the attacks. The Lexington firefighters are sponsoring a run/walk on the morning of Sept. 11 at 8 a.m.

The Run for Remembrance 4.03-mile run/walk will be at Coldstream Research Campus on Newtown Pike. It is held to honor the 343 New York City firefighters, 23 police officers and 37 port authority officers who died in the line of duty during the World Trade Center attacks.

UK Children’s Hospital will receive all proceeds from the event.

On Monday, Sept. 12, the UK Center for Community Outreach will have an “I Will” wall at the Student Center patio.

Everyone on campus is invited to take a few moments to write how they will be committed to helping others over the course of next year.

“Sept. 11 is a national day of service and remembrance,” said Jillian L. Pyatte, coordinator of the Community Outreach office of Student Involvement at UK, in an email to the Kernel. “And as the Center for Community Outreach, we felt it was our duty to provide a resource and outlet to our students, faculty and staff who would like to participate in commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11.”

In addition to memorial events honoring fallen heroes of 9/11, UK students and staff have also been constructing a permanent memorial.

UK students and faculty in the College of Design recently completed a 9/11 memorial that will tour the commonwealth state.

The project began when the college was contacted by St. Elizabeth’s Hospice.

“They had petitioned a while ago to be awarded a portion of an ‘I-beam’ from the World Trade Center with the intention to work with UKY-CoD to create a mobile memorial,” said Timothy Rash, a UK College of Architecture professor, in an email to the Kernel.

Upon being commissioned, Rash and other design faculty decided to have a contest among their students to design a base for the I-beam.

Rash said when the 126-pound beam arrived, it was distorted and the original winning design was no longer going to work.

“It gave me goose bumps, and I understood I needed to do something that was elegant and would honor everything the I-beam represents,” Rash said.

He handpicked Michael Mead and Ben Ward to help him make May’s design a reality.

Over the course of two and a half months, they constructed the base and brought the beam back to life. Rash said the group wanted the base to be “powerful,” while still complementing the I-beam to make sure it was still the focus.

Rash said he is honored he was able to participate in the 9/11 memorial’s creation.

“The events have had an impact on everyone and have changed the country forever with or without memorials,” Rash said. “It means to me that the world is not a very happy place.

“When I think of the firemen and officials that rushed to help evacuate the towers, knowing that they are in harms way, purposely for the existence of those in danger, I just hope that the world can glean some of that humanity.”