Introduction
A simple phrase — “we remember them” — encapsulates the saga of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988. We remember the 270 lives lost through service, through the quest for justice and aviation security, through memorials, and by speaking their names.
Among those killed in the bombing were 35 students returning home from a semester abroad in London, England and Florence, Italy through Syracuse University’s Division of International Programs Abroad (now Syracuse University Abroad). At the January 18, 1989 memorial service held in the Carrier Dome, Chancellor Melvin Eggers assured the families their “sons and daughters will be remembered at Syracuse University so long as any of us shall live and so long as the University shall stand.” Decades on from that tragic day, the University has not only held true to that promise, it has opened its doors to the families and communities of all 270 victims.
This promise to remember and act in honor of the victims is shared with the investigative team of United States and Scottish authorities who continue to seek full justice in this case of state-sponsored terrorism, and with the victims’ families and advocates who continue to pursue political and social action for aviation and airport security.
This exhibition, consisting of archival materials donated by the victims’ families, friends, advocates, and affected communities, documents not only the terrorist act itself, but the ways in which the lives of those lost are remembered. Whether through scholarship, public advocacy, art, or physical memorials, we ensure their lives and the lessons learned from their deaths are not forgotten.
Please note: This exhibition contains image and text-based archival documents. Please contact the Libraries’ Accessibility Specialist if you require assistance accessing this content.
About the Curator
Vanessa St.Oegger-Menn is Pan Am 103 Archivist & Assistant University Archivist in the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University Libraries.
Header image:
Detail from photograph of person touching student names on Remembrance Wall at dedication ceremony, April 22, 1990. Place of Remembrance Collection, Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives.