News
Tennessee Tech ROTC honors Sept. 11 victims, first responders with annual stair climb
Cadet Samuel Mast, a military science level I student at Tech, carries the American
flag at the annual 9/11 memorial stair climb.
Tennessee Tech University’s Army ROTC Golden Eagle Battalion commemorated the 22nd
anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with the annual 9/11 Memorial
Stair Climb, held Saturday at Tucker Stadium.
Army ROTC cadets wore 35-pound backpacks as they climbed the stadium steps continuously
to reach the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs, a tribute to first responders’ sacrifices
on that fateful day. Members of the community were also invited to participate.
Cadet Jason Perricone, a military science level IV student at Tech, walks up the stairs
of Tucker Stadium at the annual 9/11 memorial stair climb.
“Tennessee Tech’s Army ROTC Golden Eagle Battalion is committed to instilling the
values of patriotism and service in every cadet that comes through our program – values
that were never displayed more boldly than in the heroic response efforts to the September
11, 2001 terrorist attacks,” said Captain John Dowd, assistant professor of military
science at Tech and a lead organizer of this year’s stair climb. “As the years pass,
the need to pause and remind ourselves of the lives lost that day and the bravery
and resolve shown by our fellow Americans is all the more important. It was our solemn
honor to remember victims and first responders in this way."
Cadets wore 35-pound backpacks to simulate first responders’ experiences as they rushed
up the stairs of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
The stair climb commenced at 8:46 a.m., the time of the first aircraft’s moment of
impact with the north tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
A fixture on Tech’s campus for more than 70 years, the Army ROTC Golden
Eagle Battalion currently enrolls 87 Cadets. Learn more at www.tntech.edu/armyrotc.
