UAFS ROTC Hosts Memorial Stair Climb 25 Years After Attacks

Written By: Ian Silvester

Lion Company, the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Army ROTC, will honor the lives of those lost Sept. 11, 2001, with a memorial stair climb.  

The climb will begin at 6 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, at the Stubblefield Center, 5402 Kinkead Ave., in Fort Smith, following a moment of silence, prayer, and safety briefing. Cadets will be joined by members of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Local law enforcement and first responders from Fort Smith and LeFlore County, Okla., have been invited to join.  

The memorial stair climb is open to UAFS and the community. It will be a serpentine pattern culminating in 110 flights of stairs in memory of those lost and those who heroically assisted in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Climbing in full gear – emergency equipment, weighted plates, or weighted rucksacks – is encouraged but not required. 

“We’re recognizing these first responders, who instead of going the opposite direction where everyone else was going, they went into those towers,” said Lt. Colonel Sidney Roberts, professor of military science for the Razorback Battalion at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. “I don’t know how you can be any braver than that. They knew that they may not come out of that, and they still went in.” 

This will be the third climb for junior biology major and Lion Company executive officer Jack Graham. 

“This day and climb are important because it’s a time when we can all come together and remember what happened,” he said. 

This year marks 25 years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon, which claimed the lives of 2,937 people. Another 40 died in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, when passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 attempted to overthrow hijackers. 

Remembering the attacks vividly, UAFS Assistant Professor of Military Science David Noteboom said that even 25 years later, he goes back to what he felt that morning and in the months that followed.  

“Everybody came together, held hands, and was strong as a country. It’s about not forgetting what happened and continuing to push forward as a country,” Noteboom said. 

• Tags:
• 9/11
• Lion Company
• ROTC