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Tennessee Tech’s ROTC is holding a 9/11 Memorial Stair Run to honor first responders and those lost on that day.
Tech Professor of Military Science Lieutenant Colonel James Bryant said that two years ago, the group commemorated the day with a run from sun up to sundown. He said the stair climb was a way to meet time constraints while still honoring the efforts of those first responders.
“We wanted to do something to commemorates that first responders’ act of going into the towers and climbing all of those floors to go up and rescue all of those people that were trapped inside,” Bryant said.
Bryant said that the run will take place in Tucker Stadium at 8:30 a.m. Members of Tech’s ROTC Golden Eagle Battalion will complete the stair climb wearing 45-pound backpacks. Bryant said that this is to signify what the first responders and firefighters were carrying as they went into the towers to make rescues, and that runners are invited to participate as well.
Bryant said that the cause is important to the ROTC because the events of 9/11 touched many lives, even those who weren’t in New York.
“We’re hoping it preserves the memory of the people who were lost,” Bryant said. “The civilians, the first responders, and the people who fought to find Bin Laden and the service members whose lives were lost and also the service members who serve for that cause.”
Participants can sign up for the free event by emailing Tech’s ROTC group.
