William S. Hart High School students organized a 9/11 remembrance ceremony that featured 2,977 flags — one for each person who died in the terrorist attack.

Annie Niednagel, a Hart High School senior, was only a few months old when planes struck the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.

“I may not remember 9/11 first hand, (and) everything I know comes from what I have learned,” she said. “Events like this keep the memory alive for all of us.”

Niednagel, along with 50 of her classmates, convened on the Hart High School front lawn to place a flag for every taken life.

“It is not just the people we have lost,” she explained. “Behind every life is a family, a friend.”

The Hart senior also recognized the men and women of the United States armed forces who lost their lives in the line of duty since 9/11.

“Each flag represents one life lost on that day,” she said. “You can’t forget about the close to 7,000 other lives that have been lost in the wars.”

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Niednagel founded the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) club, which was recently charted at Hart High School.

The club organized the remembrance event, along with school administrators and Hart’s Associated Student Body (ASB), as part of a nationwide movement in YAF.

Many public officials attended the ceremony including Assemblyman Dante Acosta,  Santa Clarita Mayor Pro Tem Marsha Mclean and Councilmember Bill Miranda.

“This is a new generation taking the torch and running with it,” Acosta said. “Our generation feels confident they will take the memory forward.”  

Assemblyman Acosta spoke about the initial reaction the American people had on that day as they watched the attack play out on television.

“For all Americans, when you realize your homeland is being attacked — it’s jarring,” Acosta said. “For the first time, it was brought home for a new generation.”

Acosta had worked in the World Trade Center and knew people in the building who died that day.

“It was very personal for me,” Acosta said. “I have spent a lot of time there, and I lost friends on that day.”

The event organizers hope they have started a tradition at Hart High School, and wish for the “9/11: Never Forget” event to continue in the future.

“This needs to carry on through the years,”  Niednagel said. “If we are not constantly reminded of the loss we had that day, we will forget — we will forget that sting we felt that day.”

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