It doesn’t seem real that it’s been 23 years since we were shocked and devastated by 9/11 and 9/12. On 9/11, a former UW student by the name of Larry Strickland, a sergeant major in the Army, was just 19 days away from retiring when American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked by terrorists and crashed into the Pentagon, killing Strickland and 188 other souls. Just 52 years old, he was the father of three children and one grandchild.
Former Columns magazine editor Tom Griffin wrote a really touching piece about Strickland in our December 2001 issue, “Memories & Reflections.” Tom wrote that Strickland was just two quarters shy of graduating from the UW when he left in 1971 to join the Army after his plan to become a teacher had been derailed due to a lousy job market. During his time in the military, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the Regents College of New York.
Tom wrote that Strickland – who dressed up as Apollo in front of the columns at Sylvan Grove for a 1968 fraternity publicity photo – remained a huge Husky fan even though he lived 3,000 miles away from Seattle. “He followed the scores no matter where he was,” his mother, Olga, told Tom. “Whenever they did well, he had to have a new Husky shirt.”
We didn’t have a chance to catch our breath from that awful day when, the next morning, word came that 16 UW alumni and Husky fans were killed in the crash of a sightseeing plane in Mexico. They were on a weeklong cruise taking them to Miami to watch a long-awaited showdown between the Huskies and the Miami Hurricanes at the Orange Bowl.
I had the honor of writing the story, “Remember the Huskies,” about the people we lost that day in Mexico. I visited with every family of those who perished, and those memories still live with me. (My youngest daughter – now 22 years old and a fourth-year UW student, would be born seven weeks after 9/11 and 9/12.) More than two decades have passed. Since then, we have seen our hair turn a little whiter. The Husky community has lived through a lot since then: several wars, the Covid-19 pandemic, political and social turmoil. And yet, we still ache for our loved ones who perished so tragically.
We take the time to remember:
9/11
Army Sgt. Maj. Larry Strickland
9/12
Karen O. Burks, ’86
Scott Douglas Columbia, ’88
Shirley, ’45, and Charles Genther, ’52
Mary Kearney
Barbara Ann Martin, ’67
Lois and Dwight Mitchell
Linda and Larry Schwab
Lisa Marie Styer, ’87
Judy, ’62, and Geoff, ’65, Vernon
Judy and Larry Wade, ’63, ’64
Theodore D. Zylstra, ’57
On a tragic anniversary in UW history, editor Jon Marmor pays tribute to the 17 Huskies who lost their lives on 9/11 and 9/12, 2001.
Voices from the UW community on the events of Sept. 11, 2001—experiencing the attacks, the links back to the UW, and perspectives on our uncertain new world.
Two alumni who escaped the horror of Ground Zero bravely share their stories of trauma and hope.
Jon Marmor reflects on the lives lost on 9/12/2001, the day a sightseeing plane full of Husky football fans crashed in Mexico.
A native of Seattle, Minoru Yamasaki, ’34, was born on Dec. 1, 1912, in a cold-water tenement in the Yesler Hill district of Seattle. His most famous work was the World Trade Center.