By following this internal moral directive, Ryan Sawtelle accomplished the great task of bringing Waves of Flags to the Malibu campus and, as an unexpected result, discovered a deep passion for supporting the veteran community—a vocation he now lives out with his nonprofit organization, White Heart, and its annual Ride to the Flags event. White Heart offers a range of retreats where large groups of veterans and first responders can gather in community and engage in the healing process together.
Alumnus Ryan Sawtelle ('09), Creator of Pepperdine’s Waves of Flags, Continues to Give Back to the Veteran Community | Newsroom | Pepperdine University
Since 2008, Pepperdine University has commemorated the anniversary of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, by displaying nearly 3,000 flags along the Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon Road—each flag representing an innocent life lost on that day, including a national flag for each foreign country that lost a citizen in the attack.
From Saturday, September 7, to Friday, September 27, 2024, the University invites the Pepperdine community and the public to visit the display and to reflect on the lives lost, the families affected, and the countless sacrifices made by emergency personnel and servicemen and women in the days that followed. This year, visitors to the Waves of Flags display will have an opportunity to honor the victims of 9/11 with a note of reflection or prayer that may be attached to any flagpole with provided ribbon.
For more information about Pepperdine’s annual commemoration of the terror attacks on 9/11, visit the Waves of Flags website.
Flag Lowering 2024 Friday, September 27, 2024 • 10 AM–2 PM
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