Cadets and midshipmen of the University of Virginia ROTC commands, along with local volunteers, ran 2,200 steps at Scott Stadium early Thursday morning in memory of fallen first responders and victims of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001.
Thursday marked the 24th anniversary of the attacks; the steps symbolized the 110 stories the first responders at the World Trade Center climbed on that day. At the stadium, about 300 participants climbed the steps, including firefighters in full turnout gear with hose packs and air tanks, cadets running under the Army guidon and students carrying American flags. U.S. Army Cadet Hannah Dillon, a nursing student, ran the entire course.
Army ROTC cadets climb up and down the Scott Stadium stairs under an Army guidon on Thursday morning. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)
While all the members of the three UVA ROTC units climbed the steps, about 60 non-military students, as well as Vice Provost Louis Nelson, who oversees the ROTC units, also participated.
Daniel Paxton, chief of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad and a retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant, opened the event, reminding people of the lives lost that day and the heroes who responded. He reminded the cadets and midshipmen their lives can change quickly, offering his experiences as an example. A young airman home on leave when the attacks occurred, Paxton said the 9/11 attacks launched him on a 23-year career in the Air Force, with more than 20 deployments to 40 countries.
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