Early Wednesday morning marked 10 years since the Texas A&M bonfire collapse. It wasearly in the morning a decade agowhen the century-old tradition came crashing down, killing a dozen students and injuring many more.
More than 3,000people attended a bonfire memorial early Wednesday morningin College Station to pay tribute to those who lost their lives.
This is not about the bonfire or the tragedy, this is about life, said Will Hurd, a Texas A&M graduate who was student class president when the tragedy happened.
Hurd was there that morning when the 40-foot pyramid of logs collapsed, trapping and killing 12 students, including Madison High School graduate Bryan McClain. Twenty-seven others were injured.
Hurd said he was called to the scene at the polo fields shortly after 3 a.m. He said the sight was surreal and, even today, is still vivid in his mind. It was pretty shocking. It was a numbness; I still remember how cold it was, the wet gound. It's one of those images you don't forget, Hurd said.
He says the tragedy changed many lives, including his, forever, but that it also forged a bond among A&M families, that is still felt today.
This is about celebrating the little things in our lives that those 12 fallen Aggies can't -- getting married, graduation, your first job, [You just have to] take advantage of every day on this earth, Hurd said.
The attendees held candles at the collapse site on campus at 2:42 a.m. -- the exact time of the accident a decade ago.
The 30-minute event had stretches of silence mixed with the crowd singing Amazing Grace and school songs such as The Spirit of Aggieland.
