Saturday, Dec. 21, is the 25th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The flight, from London to New York, exploded in the skies over Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988, at 7:03 p.m. GMT (2:03 p.m. EST), killing all 259 passengers and crew aboard and 11 people on the ground. Among those on board were 35 students returning from a semester studying abroad in London and Florence through Syracuse University’s Division of International Programs Abroad (DIPA).
To mark the 25th anniversary, five services are planned in the United States and the United Kingdom (all times listed are local times). Syracuse University will be represented by faculty/staff members, students and/or alumni at each location.
On the SU campus, a service of hope and remembrance will begin at 2:03 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel, followed by a procession to the Wall of Remembrance. All are welcome to attend.
Other services include:
The Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 organization has arranged a private (free) shuttle service from the Cemetery Visitor Center to the Memorial Cairn.
As part of the 25th anniversary commemoration, Hendricks Chapel Dean Tiffany Steinwert and Lockerbie’s Rev. Sandy Stoddart have composed a Common Prayer for Peace, an ecumenical statement distributed widely—especially via social media—and intended to be read on Dec. 21 at 2:03 p.m. (EST, 7:03 p.m. GMT. The prayer can be found on SU’s webpage for the 25th anniversary: http://www.syr.edu/pa103remembrance25. All are encouraged to share the Common Prayer with others and to read it wherever they are that day.
