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We Remember: The History and Tragedy of the Texas A&M Bonfire

By Matthew Bartlett

Oct 8, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; A general view of the Texas flag, 12th Man flag, and American flags before the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Tennessee Volunteers at Kyle Field. The Aggies defeat the Volunteers 45-38 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; A general view of the Texas flag, 12th Man flag, and American flags before the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Tennessee Volunteers at Kyle Field. The Aggies defeat the Volunteers 45-38 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Texas A&M Bonfire is remembered by the Aggie family every year on the 18th of November for it’s rich history and tragic collapse.

Early in the morning of November 18th, 1999 the Aggie family experienced the worst tragedy to ever occur on the campus of Texas A&M. At 2:42 AM, as dozens of Aggies scurried about the stack, the entire structure came tumbling down. Of the 58 students that were working on the grounds at that time, 27 of them were injured and 12 of them were killed.

Bonfire burned for the first time in 1907 as a symbol of the Aggies “burning desire” to beat the hell outta the University of Texas on the football field. It burned every year before the Aggies played Texas until 1963. Out of respect for President John F. Kennedy, the stack was disassembled following his assassination on November 22nd, 1963.

In October of 2003, work began on the construction of the Bonfire Memorial. The memorial was dedicated on November 18th, 2004. It stands today as a reminder and encouragement of the ever-present Spirit of Aggieland.

On this day, even 17 years later, we Aggies stop to remember the lives of those 12 individuals that lost their lives on that day.

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Remembering the 12 fallen Aggies

Bonfire was cancelled following its collapse in 1999, but the Spirit lived on. In 2002, students built and burned the first “unofficial” bonfire. The following year, in 2003, the Student Bonfire organization was founded.

Student Bonfire has been using the same design since it was founded in 2003, resulting in a stack less than half the size of those from the 1960’s. Many students have pushed for the return of bonfire to the Texas A&M campus, but currently it burns off-site, with obvious hesitation to return it to the university. Student Bonfire draws more than 10,000 Aggies every year, even attracting 12,000 in 2013 when it was postponed due to flooding.

***Special thanks to Scott Eden and Texas A&M for source information***