Horacio Ruiz-Lugo was young when 9/11 happened, but even then he was scared.
“I was shocked that something like that can even happen,” the 19-year-old said.
On Thursday morning, Ruiz-Lugo, a UF finance sophomore, admired the expanse of 2,997 American flags on the Plaza of the Americas, set up as a 9/11 memorial to honor those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack.
UF’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom set up the display. Danny Weldon Jr., a UF political science and history junior and the club’s chairman, said the project is a first for the chapter. Each flag represents somebody who lost their life in the terror attacks. The project was postponed from the initial date because of Hurricane Irma.
About 15 club members set up the flags at 6 a.m., which flew until about 10 p.m. It took about two hours to set up.
Weldon said he thinks the memorial is an important part of being an American and goes beyond the organization’s conservative goals.
“Sometimes there are things that transcend whatever your ideology is, and I think commemorating those lives is a big part of that,” he said.
Members of the organization raised about $475 through outreach and a social media campaign to fund the memorial, Weldon said.
“We really want to make sure that people remember this important day. The whole goal of this is to commemorate those lives that were lost,” Weldon said.
An array of flags decorates the Plaza of the Americas on Thursday. The Young Americans for Freedom group put down a flag for each victim of 9/11.
