I was a junior at Texas A&M on November 18, 1999 when stack fell. I have traveled around some since then and I have discovered that a lot of the people I meet know that A&M is where "those logs fell." Due these experiences, I have decided to add this page to my site in the hopes that some folks will read this and understand a little more about what Bonfire was and is all about and what happened that day.

One of the things that freshman in the Corps of Cadets have to memorize is the answer to the following question: What is Bonfire? The answer is this: "Each year, Aggies gather together wood and timber to build a HUGE Bonfire, which symbolizes the burning desire to beat the hell outta t.u. Bonfire is normally set ablaze the night before the game when it is played in Kyle field, and two nights before the game when it is played in Austin." Now I know that that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to non-Aggies, so here's a translation. Bonfire is the embodiment of the desire of the student body to beat our rivals, the university of texas (referred to as t.u.), in the annual Thanksgiving football game. However, Bonfire was (and hopefully will be again) also a means to an end. The early mornings and hard labor of cutting down, cleaning, loading and unloading the trees for Bonfire brought comaraderie and spirit to the student body.

When stack fell in the early morning hours of November 18, 1999, calls went out for blankets, jackets and help. All were brought. However, not everyone on campus knew what was going on until some hours later. I was one such person. Many of us found out when we woke up for morning formation for the Corps of Cadets. Parents were frantically calling trying to locate their children after seeing morning newscasts. Children were attempting to get an open phone line so that they could assuage their parents fears. But not every parent's fears were calmed, many were realized. The campus and surrounding cities went into shock and action at the same time. People waited for hours to donate blood. Students swarmed the polo fields where the Bonfire was. Hundreds of students stood by waiting to help when a log was carefully removed from the toppled stack. Businesses from the Bryan-College Station area brought food and drink by the truckload for the student workers and emergency rescue workers. Many people would do as much as they could to help, and then take a break to sit down and cry. The whole time we were working, we would be thinking about the friends, classmates and aquaintances we had already lost, and pray for the missing and injured. There was a memorial services that night in Reed Arena. The arena was brand new and abolutely cavernous, so when it was filled to standing room only, I was amazed at the sight. It was not surprising in the least, though, to see so many people there. Aggies always have and always will be a family. While the ceremony itself was nice, the most inspiring part of it was impromptu. At the end of the service, everyone stood to sing the Aggie War Hymn and the Spirit of Aggieland, but when they were done, no one moved. Everyone stood right where they were as if waiting for something more. There was total silence for about a minute and then, someone started the singing of "Amazing Grace." That was quite possibly the most moving thing I have ever been a part of. By the time the service was held, 11 Aggies had already died. I knew 2 of them personally and 6 more were fellow member of the Corps of Cadets. The count would not stop there. By the next evening, Tim Kerlee had died. While I say I knew 2 personally, it doesn't really matter if I knew them or not, they were all my brothers and sisters in the Aggie family. I felt the loss of each of them. In addition to the 12 who died, 27 were injured, some very seriously. Many were treated and returned immediately to the site to help in any way they could. The support from universities in Texas was amazing. The University of Texas, our rival, cancelled it's annual hex rally and instead held a candlelight vigil. On the night that Bonfire would have burned, a candlelight vigil was held at the site of Bonfire. The emotion present cannot be adequately described. It was a feeling of pain and loss, but also one of pride, unity and love. The Yell Practice that is usually held at Bonfire was held in Kyle Field (our football stadium). The Parsons Mounted Cavalry fired off the Spirit of '02 canon 12 times as the pictures of our fallen Aggies were shown on the Jumbotron screen. My experiences and those of my fellow Aggies can never be fully described, this is just a small portion. It is as our alma-mater says "It is a spirit, can ne'er be told. It's the Spirit of Aggieland."

We miss you Tim.

Texas A&M Bonfire Web Page

Falcon 16 Bonfire Memorial