WesternU commemorates 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks

Western University of Health Sciences’ Military Medical Student Association (MMSA) held its annual 9/11 memorial service on the WesternU California campus Sept. 11, 2026, to pay tribute to those who lost their lives and honor those who continue to serve.  

The memorial service featured College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) student Akshay Bharadwaj performing the National Anthem and Karl Wegner with Bugles Across America performing “Taps,” followed by a moment of silence. Guest speakers shared their memories of 9/11 and reflected on the legacy of courage, sacrifice and service that followed.  

WesternU College of Dental Medicine Associate Dean for Patient Care and Clinical Education and Assistant Professor Nathan Wonder, DDS, MS, completed dental school through the Navy Health Professions Scholarship Program and served 22 years in the military. He was beginning his third year at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry when the Sept. 11 attacks took place. For military medicine, 9/11 became a defining moment for an entire generation. Over the next two decades, health professionals served around the world, caring for the wounded, comforting families, restoring health, function and hope. Some never came home, Wonder said.  

“Their legacy is more than clinical skill. It is a legacy of service. A legacy of sacrifice. A legacy of putting others before themselves,” he said.   

Many WesternU students were not born when 9/11 happened, but that does not make its lessons any less relevant today, Wonder said.   

“The generation that answered the call after 9/11 is gradually passing the torch. Many of you will be the next to carry it,” Wonder said.  

The challenges and technology may be different, the world may be different, but our nation will always need people willing to serve.  

“As we remember September 11, let us honor those who lost their lives. Let us honor the families who continue to carry that loss. Let us honor the first responders, military members, and health care professionals who answered the call in the years that followed,” Wonder said. “And let us honor them by continuing their legacy of service. By caring for others. By leading with empathy. And by remaining committed to something greater than ourselves.”  

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  

“We talk about the numbers of people that died, but we need to recognize that every number has a name. Every number is a life,” said COMP Associate Professor David Redding, DO ’93. “Every number loved somebody and is loved by somebody. And that night when they should have been home with their families and friends, there was a place missing at the table. And for your husbands and wives, there was a person missing in that bed next to you. And those kind of sorrows, they don’t go away in a week or a month or a year. They’re there for the rest of your life. So there’s a lot of sorrow still out there, a lot of painful hearts that still exist today, although you do go on.”  

Second-year COMP student and U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Isabella Farah serves as the treasurer of MMSA and served as the master of ceremonies. This memorial service honors the courage and sacrifices of the first responders who worked tirelessly to rescue those in need and the sacrifices of the unsung heroes, the innocent men and women who were taken without even a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones, she said.   

“As we commemorate this sacred day, I challenge each of us to go forward with an attitude of service. Let us not take for granted the precious time we are given. Instead, let us look for opportunities to lift others up, to comfort the grieving, and to strengthen our own communities,” Farah said. “The world has enough vanity and selfishness. To truly honor those who died, we must live with optimism and kindness. Service—whether heroic or simple—can transform lives. And while it may take courage to step beyond our own comfort, it is through compassion that we find our greatest strength.”