New Mexico State University’s Air Force and Army ROTC units are inviting the NMSU and Las Cruces community to join them in events honoring the victims of 9/11.
The commemoration will include a memorial run beginning at 6 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11. NMSU police will escort ROTC cadets participating in the run, which will begin at Young Hall and head west on the Horseshoe to Espina Street, south onto Wells Street, left (north) at Locust Street, on to Stewart Street, and back toward the Horseshoe ending at Young Hall.
“It’s important that we never forget the sacrifices made by so many on Sept. 11, 2001, and the sacrifices made since then in the name of freedom,” said Lt. Col. Ira Cline, NMSU Air Force ROTC commander and professor of Aerospace Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. “America has long been the beacon of freedom for the rest of the world and, regardless of what our enemies want to achieve, they’ll fail. They’ll fail because the hope and promise of freedom can’t ever be destroyed by terrorist ideology or acts. So for that reason, we’ll run. It’s a sign of our commitment to freedom and it’s a huge ‘thank you’ to all who’ve served and will serve,”
Upon returning to the Horseshoe, NMSU’s Army ROTC will fire a canon, marking the exact times the planes hit: 8:46 a.m. for American Airlines Flight 11; at 9:02 a.m. for United Airlines Flight 175; at 9:37 a.m. for American Airlines Flight 77; and at 10:03 a.m. for United Airlines Flight 93.
Cadets will also be chalking the names of 9/11 victims on the International Mall outside Corbett Center from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 9-10. Volunteers are welcome.
For more information contact the NMSU Air Force ROTC at 575-646-2136.
Information from NMSU