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SET YOUR DVR... "20/20: In an Instant" - season finale - Buried by Bonfire

12,785 Views | 30 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by agsteve77
p-wonk01
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8pm CST This Saturday


"20/20: In an Instant" Airs Saturday, July 23rd at 9:00pm ET on ABC Returning for its second season, "In an Instant" does more than just re-tell heart-pounding first-person accounts of the world's most harrowing tales of survival; it brings them to life with breathtaking dramatizations of the moments before and after life was forever changed. The powerful series features the trials and triumphs from every angle, and includes gripping first person interviews with the people who lived to tell their stories - and those who were instrumental in helping rescue everyone they could. What key decisions did they make to save their lives? "20/20: IN AN INSTANT" airs on SATURDAY, JULY 23rd (9:00 11:00 pm ET) on the ABC TELEVISION NETWORK.

Episode 6: "Buried by Bonfire"
Texas A&M's "Aggie Bonfire" was an annual spectacle, symbolizing the school's "burning desire" to defeat its main college football rival, the University of Texas at Austin. On November 18 at 2:42 a.m., eight days before the big football game, students and volunteers were hard at work when the entire bonfire collapsed, killing 12 students and trapping 27 others.
John Comstock, the last victim pulled out of the bonfire, was painfully pinned down by fallen logs for over seven hours. Firefighter Darren Allen helped Comstock hang on for life before a crane was able to eventually lift enough logs to free him. Though John ultimately lost a leg, he went on to triumph over his injury.
Bill Davis, the second to last student pulled out, was miraculously rescued with no broken bones. In a remarkable act of selflessness, student Tim Kerlee was heard saying, "help my buddies first," before being rushed to the hospital where he sadly passed away. The rescue would eventually involve the help of over a hundred volunteers and end with 16,000 mourners gathering within 17 hours of the tragedy.



THIS WEEK ON THE FINALE OF "20/20: IN AN INSTANT" WHEN A BONFIRE COLLAPSES ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS, STUDENTS HEROICALLY RESCUE FELLOW CLASSMATES
TimsParents
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S
Tim's last name is spelled Kerlee!
Gig'Em & God Bless
Clavell
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Is this something new or a re-broadcast?
always gig em
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Will be watching thanks!
p-wonk01
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quote:
Is this something new or a re-broadcast?
It is new....obviously with some old footage.
p-wonk01
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quote:
Tim's last name is spelled Kerlee!
Fixed it..thanks. It was copied from their website so you may wish to inform them!
Texmid
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DVR set. Thanks for the heads-up.
AggieHaylea13
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Thank you! Probably gonna be a tearjerker.
aggiealltheway
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When I went to set the DVR, the guide said it starts at 9pm, and I'm in CST.
Yellow97
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It will bring back some painful memories, but I'll be watching.
CajunAg86
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quote:
When I went to set the DVR, the guide said it starts at 9pm, and I'm in CST.


Directv has it at 8pm cdt (2 hours long though).
aggiebq03+
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Here.

Always here.
Ag98and03
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This is going to be tough to watch
Bifferton Bobber Squat
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My wife and I visited the Memorial for the first time the other weekend. We're both Aggies and met while at A&M. Class of '04.

My first bonfire was supposed to be 1999. I was a high school Senior and was dating a Freshman at A&M at the time. I was really excited about going and absolutely devastated when I turned on the news that morning.

The Memorial was very moving for both my wife and me. Many of those who were killed would be about our age now. It was all I could do not to think about where those men and women would be right now. They'd have careers, families... No doubt they'd be leading their respective communities and making a difference for others.

The Memorial was very well done, simple, yet powerful. Its hard to believe so many years have passed.
SteveA
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Class of '99 here. This better not be slanted as a hit piece. Cautiously optimistic.
wbt5845
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I just can't bring myself to watch any of these shows about Bonfire. It's like ripping a scab off every time. I've just accepted that all that pain is a part of my past and I'll just keep it there TYVM.
94chem
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It's possible to respect the lives that were lost and changed forever, to talk about the unique traditions of A&M, AND to talk about the inexcusable myriad of missteps that had to occur in order for the collapse to happen. Texas A&M let down the 12th Man in a terrible way that day, and time makes it easier to understand that. That's not a hit piece, just an acknowledgement that sometimes bad things happen because grown-ups don't do their job.
dachsie
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I just went to set my dvr for this and it lists a different program from 2015 about a plane crash in AK
KaneIsAble
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Same here
Old School Wrecking Crew
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Thank you. DVR set. Never forget
Wife is an Aggie
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I just went to set my dvr for this and it lists a different program from 2015 about a plane crash in AK


Same
NE PA Ag
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Mine also has the AK plane crash episode described.
The Original AG 76
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U-Verse has it correct
AgsWin2011
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Can't wait. The wife and I already love this show. This should be a good one, but will hit close to home.
88jrt06
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Issue is so white-hot personally that I will DVR and save it until you good folks post that it was a fair and compassionate piece, focused on the kids (dammit) first, minus a blame-game. Almost all Ags have a good idea about those (blame, "culture") issues. A dispassionate analysis for others would be OK.

So, please post after you see it.
agfan1030
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Directv 13 Houston market / 7 pm ..... Flying Blind ...... 8-10 pm ..... Buried by Bonfire
Al Bula
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DVR set.
Shooz in Katy
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quote:
I just can't bring myself to watch any of these shows about Bonfire. It's like ripping a scab off every time. I've just accepted that all that pain is a part of my past and I'll just keep it there TYVM.


I was on campus when it happened and normally I wouldn't watch but I'm using it as a learning/history lesson for my kids.

I hope they cast those involved in a positive light.
Trev
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Thank you OP, DVR set!
L1Rebels03
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I still remember that chilly November night like it was yesterday, as a Fish in the Corps, I was actively involved in Bonfire, going out to weekend cuts and helping nightly with the "humping" of the logs. I remember heading back to the Corps dorms around 1 AM that morning and barely drifting off to sleep, as I felt the ground shake and awoke to sirens and people shouting, "Bonfire Fell, Bonfire Fell!" My initial reaction was to throw on the first clothes I saw ,a new Aggie sweater my parents had just bought me the weekend before, and sprint over there. As I ran over there i was accompanied by hundreds of others cadets, running frantically through the night trying to get there as quick as possible to see what had occurred. As we reached the Polo Fields we saw the once neatly stacked logs we had just been working on earlier, a now scattered mess on the floor. Calls for warm clothin rang out to keep the fellow Aggies trapped under the logs warms, and without hesitation I ripped of my new sweater and handed it over, as emergency vehicles began to arrive. I soon learned that one of my fellow fish buddies was among those trapped under the wreckage. As I joined my other fish buddies in a circle to pray for the safety off all of those trapped, I knelt there with only a tank top on to cover my torso. Yet I had no preception or feeling of coldness on that chilly night, my mind completely focused on the well being of our fellow Aggies. A couple hours later our buddy was pulled from the wreckage, still conscious with his right arm barley hanging on by a tendon. We consoled him and wished him well as he was rushed off to the hospital with us in close pursuit. Luckilly for him, the doctors were able to save his right arm, yet he would never gain full use.

I share this story, because it was on this night that we lost 12 brave fellow Aggies, but it was also the night I truly learned and felt what it meant to be an Aggie. To come together as a band of brothers to help the injured, and give of ourselves, no matter how small or how big, without regard for anything else, because of the special Bond we shared as AGGIES. To this day I have yet to witness Bonfire burn, but my love, desire and support for Texas A&M and fellow Aggies will always burn strong!

May the Fallen 12 Rest In Peace.

Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 2003 & Corps of Cadets Hell Raising Rebel, Company L-1.
Stone44
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Really brought back some hurtful memories---but it was excellent and makes me proud to be an Aggie.
agsteve77
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very hard to watch.
but glad i did
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