By Kaitlin Sides | Reporter
Baylor’s Army and Air Force ROTC detachments joined forces Saturday to host their annual 5K in remembrance of the men and women who died on 9/11 in New York and Washington, D.C.
Around 1 p.m., participants took off from a starting point between an American and Texas flag in the parking lot of the Ferrell Center. They followed University Parks Drive to McLane Stadium, where they ran to the statues of the two Baylor students who received the Medal of Honor during World War II. After participants touched one of the statues, they returned to the starting point.
There were more than 75 participants, including members of the Air Force and Army ROTC programs and volunteers. Many veterans from the Waco area also came to show support for the event.
Before the 5K started, Jeffrey Thompson, assistant professor of military science, gave a word of encouragement to the runners.
“Today is for the members who made a sacrifice during the war on terror,” Thompson said. “It’s also a memory of remarkable strength, remarkable dedication.”
Many of the cadets had personal experiences that tied them to this historic event. Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., senior Ethan Moore said he joined Army ROTC to make sure something like 9/11 never happens again.
“I lost my cousin, Charles, [on 9/11],” Moore said. “So my father and brother joined after. I was only 1 year old at the time, but 21 years later, I’m here and getting ready to be commissioned as a second lieutenant.”
Denton senior Timothy Jones said the 5K is more than an event. He said it is about supporting each other and running in honor of the people lost during 9/11.
“9/11 had a huge impact on our nation to get up and fight,” Jones said.
Although many of them are too young to remember 9/11, current members of Army and Air Force ROTC still joined with veterans 21 years later to show how this day impacted their lives.
