More than 200 cadets, veterans, staff members and community participants gathered before sunrise at Cornell University's Schoellkopf Stadium for an annual workout honoring first responders killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Cornell's Reserve Officer Training Corps organized the 40-minute circuit of stair climbing and strength exercises on the 25th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center.
The event began at 5:40 in the morning and continued until about 7:15, when participants cooled down and reflected on the people being remembered.
Vice Provost Katherine McComas joined the workout for the second year. McComas, who oversees and supports Cornell's ROTC programs, described the physical strain as a privilege compared with the sacrifice of first responders and said the gathering offered a way to remember as a community.
Her connection to military service includes her father's experience in Army ROTC at the University of Colorado. During the past year, McComas also visited Fort Knox, the Philadelphia Naval Yard and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to better understand the environments Cornell ROTC students will enter.
McComas said participating alongside students helps demonstrate that university leaders recognize the experiences and expectations placed on cadets.
Veterans connect with a new generation
Many current college students know the 2001 attacks only as history, while veterans at the event connect them with their own service and the experiences of colleagues.
Tony Roach, a U.S. Navy veteran and Cornell administrator, said the workout gives veterans an opportunity to share knowledge with ROTC cadets before they begin military leadership roles.
Roach retired from active duty in 2022 and remains involved through Cornell's Veterans Colleague Network Group, Graduate Student Military Community and Veterans House. He has participated in the memorial workout during each of his seven years at the university.
He said the event restores some of the camaraderie veterans miss after leaving active service and reflects a longstanding military connection in Cornell's history.
At the close of the workout, ROTC Tri-Service Brigade commander Nathan Li presented McComas with a folded American flag that had flown over Barton Hall in recognition of her support for Cornell's military community.
Participants ended the ceremony together with the words “Never forget.”
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