South Texas College of Law Houston’s Veteran Law Students Association (VLSA) and The Federal Society hosted a 9/11 remembrance on campus Thursday, opening with a moving rendition of taps by VLSA Treasurer Phillip Scoles.
VLSA President George Drouillard, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps for eight years, remembered the nearly 3,000 lives lost on that tragic day in 2001. He also noted how Sept. 12 brought unity to our nation.
“Neighbors helped neighbors… Stockbrokers and firefighters worked side by side… Young men and women lined up to serve in the military. Individuals put aside differences to come together as communities and as a country.” He called the crowd to put aside differences they are feeling today, to repair relationships, and to not “wait for a catastrophe” to do so.
Guest speaker Mike Holley, the first assistant district attorney at the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in Conroe, noted that he served in the Army. He said the 9/11 situation in 2001 “knocked us flat, and we wept. Then, individually and together, we dried our tears. Then we stood up. When suffering comes, there are two paths: surrender or service.”
Holley encouraged the crowd to choose service. “As lawyers, you serve when you help a widow who is wrongly evicted. When you speak for victims. When you make the truth known and safeguard the law. When you do what is right, you serve — using your power to help another human in need.”
VLSA Sergeant-at-Arms Aaron Morales also spoke, noting that he grew up understanding that service and sacrifice are part of the American legacy — in part because of the nation’s response to 9/11. “This is a day we remember, not just with sorrow, but with hope that comes when we join together as a nation.”
