At the site of the Bonfire tragedy stands a memorial to the victims who died nearly ten years ago, and to the legacy of the tradition.

November 18, 2009 marks a decade since the collapse, but it also marks five years since the monument to the Aggies lost was dedicated.

Sitting on the site of the last on-campus burns, the memorial greets visitors with a plaza featuring "The Last Corps Trip," the poem read before the stack's lighting each year. A long path leads visitors to the site itself. A stone for each year Bonfire burned are along that path, three commemorating lives lost prior to 1999.

Twenty-seven stones, one for each person injured, circle the site of the final stack. A marker at the center marks where center pole once stood.

Twelve portals of granite and bronze stand for 12 victims. Each is personalized with a picture and words of remembrance from family and friends. The portals each face the victim's hometown.

About a year after the 1999 collapse, a permanent memorial for Bonfire began being discussed. The question: how do you honor that tradition and its legacy, and remember those who lost their lives during it?

Texas A&M professor George Rogers co-chaired the committee tasked with answering that question.

"From the get go, it was absolutely, 'we need to do this absolutely right. It needs to be done with style and class and in the Aggie way,'" Rogers said.

In January 2001, Rogers says the committee solicited designs for a memorial. Nearly 200 came in, and a final four were eventually selected. Each of those finalists got $10,000 to develop their ideas, which were reviewed by students, parents, faculty and alumni.

While all four were appreciated by the stakeholders, Rogers said one stood out, and was a near-unanimous choice. The Overland Partners design firm of San Antonio, headed up by Aggie graduate Bob Shemwell, got the nod.

"Anytime you see granite, it's about the overall process," Rogers explained. "It's about the spirit of Aggieland. It's about the Bonfire and what it means to Aggies and so forth. And yet, everytime you see the bronze, it's about the people. Something happened to someone."

That task of molding granite and bronze into remembrance fell to artist Erik Christianson and a team of craftsmen, who spent months putting the pieces together.

"It's just really been a great honor to work with the parents, and I'm just glad that everybody was basically satisfied," Christianson said. "We took the portraits up to as close as we could get. It was just, for me, a nice experience, but it was very challenging at the same time."

In November 2004, thousands attended the memorial's dedication, including family members who saw their loved ones enshrined forever at the site they were working at on a project they held in high regard.

Donna Wittliff and Jack Covington came to the memorial recently to remember.

"I think the design is classic," Covington said. "I think it's exceedingly subtle and dramatic at the same time."

"It's just so peaceful," Wittliff added. "I think it's a wonderful memorial, too. I just really like to come see it and remember the students."

For Rogers, being involved in a project of this scope still gives him pride. He goes past the memorial every day he goes to work.

"I told the parents [of the victims] that I was kind of sorry I ever had to meet them, but it's one of the richest experiences and one of the most rewarding things I've ever done," Rogers said.

The memorial is open to the public at all times, but guided tours are available as well. Click the link below this story to find out more.