Texas Aggie Bonfire '99

It is hard to believe that it has been five years since the Bonfire '99 tragedy occurred. I clearly remember the day as if it just happened. But I suppose one can never forget such an event.

I was planning to wake up very early on the morning of Nov. 18, 1999. The plan was for my good friend Tim Smith and I to relieve our friend Mike Sconzo who had been waiting in line all night to get us good seats for the annual Texas A&M vs. University of Texas football game. My phone awoke me and when I looked at the clock, it was only 4:30 AM or so and I had planned on meeting Tim at around 5:30. Tim was on the phone and I told him not to worry, I wasn't going to oversleep. He replied that Bonfire had fallen and at least three people had been killed.

I was stunned.

I got to campus as quickly as possible to meet Mike and Tim and on the way could only think of what might be happening at the Polo Fields, the site of Bonfire. It was very quiet as I walked to the ticket windows at the coliseum. The only thing I could hear were the news helicopters that were hovering over the Polo Fields. For such a small town, it was very surreal to hear and see news helicopters anywhere near our campus.

As I write this, I find it hard to even put into words all that I felt in those next hours and days. There was sadness and an unbelievable sense of loss, but also a sense of community like I've never felt before. The Aggie Family came together so that we could cope with the tragedy. The memorial service on the night of Nov. 18 saw a packed Reed Arena spontaneously begin singing 'Amazing Grace.' Similarly, the candlelight vigil on Thanksgiving night was as bright as the Bonfire would have been.



The community lost 12 Aggies on Nov. 18, 1999, but in the days, weeks and months that followed, it grew stronger and reaffirmed the Spirit that is all around the campus.

As the Bonfire Memorial is dedicated later today I will be thinking of the 12 Aggies who died doing something they loved so much.

Miranda Denise Adams
Christopher D. Breen
Michael Stephen Ebanks
Jeremy Richard Frampton
Jamie Lynn Hand
Christopher Lee Heard
Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr
Lucas John Kimmel
Bryan A. McClain
Chad A. Powell
Jerry Don Self
Nathan Scott West