Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — This December marks the 35th anniversary of the Pan Am Flight 103 disaster that killed 35 Syracuse University after the plane exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. To honor this anniversary the Pan Am 103 Archivist Vanessa St. Oegger-Menn created an exhibition filled with documents and artifacts from over the course of the past 35 years.
To St.Oegger-Menn, learning is a vital component to remembering.”I think we can’t remember unless we actually learned what happened,” Oegger-Menn said.”And we need to look at the parts of that or spaces where good came out of something terrible.”
Many students on Syracuse University’s campus today don’t know about this tragedy that was the biggest terrorist attack on U.S. civilians before 9/11.
Alison Gilmore learned about Pan Am 103 when she arrived at Syracuse University her freshman year. Now being a Remembrance Scholar, Gilmore was able to identify a personal mission she wants to achieve, “”I thought a lot about leaving a legacy and for me my advocacy for disabled individuals as a disabled individual and a woman going into a male dominated sport industry. I’ve thought a lot about my actions and legacies and serving as a figure for those like me and come after me.”
The exhibit highlights what both Vanessa and ALison are highlighting; that good things will continue to grow out of a painful tragedy, “Remembering those that we have lost by looking back and acting forward and then also making sure that they’re not forgotten,” Gilmore said.
The Pan Am Flight 103 Exhibit opens this Thursday, September 21st and will remain open until the end of the semester.
