37th Annual Memorial Service at Arlington National Cemetery
VPAF 103, Inc. held our annual memorial service at the Pan Am Flight 103 Cairn at Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday, December 21, 2025. In addition to the VPAF103 service at Arlington, two other remembrance services were held on December 21st.
We are grateful to all those who participated in the memorial service, including: Chaplain Col. Tim Ryu who provided the invocation and benediction; SFC Adam Strube who sang the National Anthem; and SSG Craig Basarich who played Taps. The Military District of Washington Armed Forces Color Guard posted the colors. The names of all 270 of our loved ones were read by 19 family members and friends, including representatives of the FBI, the DOJ, the Crown Office and Syracuse University staff and Remembrance Scholars, both current and past. MP David Mundell an MSP Oliver Mundell, representing people of Lockerbie, presented the VPAF103 wreath at the Cairn. The Lord Advocate of Scotland, Dorothy Bain, read the song lyrics for “Small Acts of Love” from the play of the same name. In her remarks, VPAF103 Board Chair, Michelle Ciulla shared a poignant memory of Mary Kay Stratis, former chair of the board, who passed away in 2025. Our keynote speaker was Judge Jeanine Ferris Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In her speech, Judge Pirro’s emphasized the dedication and determination of the team who will prosecute the U.S. trial of Abu Mas’ud, which is scheduled to begin in August 2025.
A video of the service held at Syracuse University can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQO2VAQamw4 or via the link below.
In Lockerbie, Scotland, the Tundergarth Kirk Trust and the Dumfries Lodge Visitor Centre co-sponsored a remembrance service at Tundergarth Church. The joint service focused on a theme of ‘Looking back and acting forward,’ and featured musical performances from the Lockerbie community choir, piper Callum Watson, and Emma Cloy. There were reflections from students on both sides of the Atlantic, with Lockerbie Academy students and Syracuse University scholars sharing poems, stories and memories.