Aggies remember 1999 bonfire

On November 18, Aggies everywhere will celebrate 1999 Bonfire Remembrance Day.

Aggies past and present know the day well, as 12 students lost their lives, and 27 others

were injured in the collapse of the annual Aggie bonfire build.

“It’s a day that I’ll never forget. None of us that covered it will ever forget,” said Robert

Cessna of the Bryan-College Station Eagle. Robert has been at The Eagle for 30 years and has

covered many events around the twin cities. “There was a sense of sadness everywhere. It was a

national story, but here in town, it just felt like a cloud was hanging over us for a long time

after.”

Texas A&M tradition

The bonfire was a tradition at Texas A&M that began back in 1907. What started as a

simple bonfire evolved into a massive 50-foot structure made of logs by 1998. Aggies built it

every year on the eve of the football game versus their in-state rival, the University of Texas.

The bonfire would attract thousands of people every year to watch it burn.

The last year the bonfire burned was 1998. On November 18, 1999, the bonfire collapsed

while being built. The 59-foot stack of 5,000 logs fell, killing 12 and injuring 27. The Texas

A&M football team and the Corps of Cadets assisted with the rescue effort along with

emergency crews.

The tragedy was met with overwhelming support from people everywhere. Former

President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, were at the remembrance ceremony. The

Texas Longhorn Band played a tribute to the fallen and injured on game day.

A student at the time of the bonfire collapse, Tom Sullivan, says it was like something

out of a movie. “When I first heard the news, I thought it was a prank or something.” Tom said
that it took a few days for it all to sink in. “When something like that happens, you don’t know

what to do. We were also so young. Looking back, I was just a kid and honestly didn’t even

know how to handle it.”

Tribute to bonfire

A bonfire memorial was dedicated to the school five years after the collapse. The

memorial was built on the exact location of the fallen 1999 bonfire. The Texas A&M website

says that the memorial is a place of respect, remembrance, and reverence, embodying the

enduring nature of the Aggie spirit symbolized by bonfire.

This November 18, people everywhere will honor the fallen and injured yet again and

never forget what happened in the early morning hours that day in Aggieland.

Sources

Remembering Bonfire Memorial. https://bonfire.tamu.edu/

Robert Cessna – Sports Editor for Bryan-College Station Eagle

Tom Sullivan – Former A&M Student