The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, live in infamy in the hearts of countless people. On a day when thousands of people were tragically killed, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette community remembers the two alumni who were caught in the crossfire and consequently lost their lives.
Siew-Nya Ang graduated from UL Lafayette—University of Southwestern Louisiana at the time—with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1988. It was there that she met her husband, who she would later have two daughters with.
She cherished her family more than anything and called home every morning after she left for work to make sure her daughters were ready for school. Teaching her children to love learning like she did was imperative to Ang.
Ang was killed when terrorists crashed a plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, where she was working on the 95th floor.
Robert Hymel graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1969 with a Bachelor’s of Science and continued his education with a Master’s of Business Administration from Western New England College.
Hymel had a wife, a daughter and two granddaughters. He served in the Air Force as a combat pilot in the Strategic Air Command for 24 years. He served in both Vietnam and Desert Storm and retired as a highly decorated Lieutenant Colonel.
After retiring, he returned to civilian work at the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he was killed during the terrorist attacks.
At the alumni center on campus at UL Lafayette, students can find a 9/11 memorial that includes a piece of limestone from the Pentagon and a plaque that highlights the two alumni that passed in the tragedy.
Sept. 11, 2001, was a day of devastation that ripped thousands of families apart from their loved ones. America will never forget those lives that were lost and the heroes that sacrificed everything to save others.