Actor Dennis Quaid, University officials and others reflected on the legacy of the 9/11 terror attacks and its victims during Pepperdine’s annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony, held the morning of the tragedy’s 24th anniversary.
Quaid, who recently portrayed former President Ronald Reagan in a 2024 biopic, gave the keynote address at the ceremony. The assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk — which occurred a day prior — loomed over the event.
“Today, we remember the courage of first responders who ran toward danger, the quiet strength of families who have endured unspeakable loss and the unity that bound us together in those days of grief,” said Dee Dee Mayer, senior director of RelateStrong at the Boone Center for the Family and interim University chaplain.
As in recent years, the ceremony was held on Alumni Park near the Waves of Flags display, a memorial planted by volunteers in which 2,977 flags are flown to commemorate each victim of the 9/11 attacks. The display is funded by a $1 million endowment.
Since 2021, the ceremony has become home to big-name guest speakers like actors Chris Pratt and Gary Sinise. During her remarks, Chancellor Sara Young Jackson said President Jim Gash deemed the event a “critically important” annual tradition.
Opening Remarks
After introducing the intention of the event, Jackson held a moment of silence for Kirk, who was fatally shot at a Utah Valley University event less than 24 hours earlier.
“We would be remiss, I think, this morning if we failed to acknowledge the tragedy that took place in Utah yesterday: the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” Jackson said. “Our hearts are broken.”
Jackson asked all present first responders, active duty military members and veterans to stand up to be recognized. The audience applauded the dozens who stood up. Several fire trucks were parked on Alumni Park near the event.
Mayer led a prayer after Jackson’s remarks. During the prayer, Mayer named Graziadio alumnus Thomas Burnett (MBA ‘95), one of the passengers who stormed the cockpit on United Flight 93 to divert the plane from crashing into either the White House or Capitol Building.
Senior Music major Cokie Daniel sang the U.S. national anthem, followed by entertainment lawyer Brigitte Bren — wife of billionaire real estate baron Donald Bren, father to two Pepperdine alumni — who led the Pledge of Allegiance. After that, senior H.L. McCullough, SGA President and former Graphic staff member, read Matthew 5:2-11.
Actor and singer Pat Boone, co-chair of the University Board, then sang “God Bless America” before giving a final set of introductory remarks. During his speech, Boone also acknowledged the death of Kirk, whom Boone called a “modern hero.”
“I consider him [Kirk] an apostle, just like Peter, James and John, teaching the same truth to people today with force, with conviction and with the life lived himself,” Boone said.
Boone introduced Quaid by talking about his recent role in the “Reagan” (2024) biopic, a movie which Boone also played a minor role in. Boone was a close friend of the real Reagan before his death in 2004.
Dennis Quaid’s Keynote Address
Adding onto Boone’s introduction, Quaid began his keynote speech by continuing to speak about Reagan’s life and legacy.
“I love Pat Boone, and I also love and admire Ronald Reagan, along with my mom and dad,” Quaid said.
Quaid summarized his and his parents’ life experiences to retell the broad history of 20th-century America, from the Great Depression through 9/11.
“We were by no means rich,” Quaid said. “But compared to the way that my parents grew up, we were living a privileged life, really. The American middle class that was emerging, that easy life was made possible by the hard work and the sacrifice and the selfless service of the Greatest Generation.”
Quaid spoke about his optimism in the face of the Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis and the division of Germany in the 1960s, which he grew up in. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, though, Quaid said the “American Dream” began to “unravel and fray.”
“We can lose our sense of purpose and be more concerned with our own personal happiness,” Quaid said. “And that’s exactly where we were as a nation at that point.”
Quaid then circled back to Reagan, discussing the ending of the Iran hostage crisis and Cold War under his presidency. He said Reagan “ushered in a new era in America” and renewed Americans’ sense of purpose, a renewal that was present on 9/11 when first responders rushed to save lives during the tragedy.
“Those men and women, who are running in when everybody else is running out: they’re America’s finest, America’s bravest,” Quaid said. “They carried the torch that must be kept burning by each new generation.”
Quaid said Kirk carried that torch.
“These people, by their selfless service and sacrifice, are the steel which makes us strong and holds us together as a nation,” Quaid said. “The call that they answered is governed by the same eternal principles that have called those who came before use to answer a higher calling, to be willing to make that ultimate sacrifice.”
President Gash’s Remarks and the Final Flag
After Quaid’s speech, Gash came on stage to present Quaid with a retired flag from the Waves of Flags display. Gash then began his own set of remarks.
“Duty is not a word we hear often anymore, but I think it should be,” Gash said. “It’s a word that implies that we owe something to God, to one another, to those who come before us and to the generations of Americans who come after us.”
Gash then tied in this academic year’s theme of “Purpose” and invoked Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address. Gash said Lincoln challenged Americans to do more than remember the dead by continuing their work, using Lincoln’s words to make a point about how Americans remember the victims of 9/11.
“As the wind rustles through these flags, we can almost hear the heroes whisper that their legacy to us is a legacy of a life well lived,” Gash said. “A life of service and of sacrifice, a life of virtue and of courage, of willingness to stand for what is right, even when it’s not popular. A willingness to do what is right, even, perhaps especially, when it is costly.”
Gash called upon the audience to continue upholding those values.
(Left to right): Eric Leshinsky, director of Student Veteran Affairs, Jennifer Seetoo, commander at the LA County Sheriff’s Department, and Quaid plant the final flag in the Waves of Flags display at Alumni Park on Sept. 11. The display will be up until Sept. 25, according to Pepperdine’s website.
After Gash’s remarks, Board of Regents Chair Dee Anna Smith said a prayer.
“We lift up the families of the fallen on 9/11,” Smith said. “We lift them up into your care and into your peace, which is like nothing else. We lift up the Kirk family. We lift them up into your care and your peace. As we gather here today, Lord, we gather as your people, as your children in need of the eternal and unfailing love of our Heavenly Father.”
The ceremony ended with the placing of the final flag, presented by Lauren Cosentino, vice president for Advancement and chief development officer. Eric Leshinsky, director of Student Veteran Affairs and a U.S. Air Force veteran, placed the flag with Quaid and Jennifer Seetoo, commander of the North Patrol Division at the LA County Sheriff’s Department. A flyover by the Condor Squadron concluded the ceremony.
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