KTLA

Pepperdine University honors Sept. 11 victims on 20th anniversary with flag display, tribute

Southern Californians are marking the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with memorials on Saturday.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in four coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and a plane crash into a field in Pennsylvania the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. 

In the 20 years since, the day has been declared a national day of service and remembrance.

One of SoCal’s long-standing Sept. 11 tributes takes place every year at Pepperdine University in Malibu. 

Since 2008, the Waves of Flags display features 2,977 flags placed in the university’s Alumni Park, along Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon Road. The display includes one flag for each victim and a national flag for every foreign country that lost a citizen on Sept. 11.

Erin Myers reports for the KTLA 5 News on Sept. 11, 2021.