Well before the first rays of twilight began to illuminate the skies of Spartanburg on Thursday morning, the Southern Guards Battalion, members of the Wofford community and local JROTC programs ventured out into darkness to remember.
Departing from Gibbs Stadium on Wofford’s campus, nearly 100 ROTC cadets and leaders, student-athletes, professors and others began to ruck through downtown Spartanburg. Each step of the 9.11-kilometer route served as a tribute to the bravery of those who lost their lives in attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The ruck, which is a walk with a weighted backpack over a set distance, was planned by the senior class of the Southern Guards Battalion, consisting of cadets from Wofford College, USC Upstate, Converse University and Gardner-Webb University.
“I am really proud this memorable event was planned by these future leaders, who rallied peers, professors, athletics, JROTC and the community to participate and highlight how this day shaped both our military and our nation,” says Lt. Col. Michael Cooper, professor of military science.
The ruck ended where it began with fire trucks and police cars accompanying the group’s entrance into the stadium. The group completed the ruck by walking up and down the stadium stairs before three cadets from the Southern Guards Battalion took their Oath of Enlistment.
Cooper says these physical activities invite participants to be a part of something bigger than a training exercise.
“By rucking or running stairs in tribute, they’re connecting to a legacy of courage and sacrifice,” says Cooper, who commissioned into the U.S. Army because of the Sept. 11 attacks. “It’s more than a workout — it’s a lesson in leadership and service and a way to honor those who ran toward danger when others ran away."
It’s also a way for students who were not born in 2001 to feel the gravity of the day and understand something they’ve learned about in the classroom.
Ean Hall, cadet battalion operations officer for the Southern Guards Battalion and student at Converse, is one such cadet. He says he first learned about the tragic events of Sept. 11 in fifth grade, but over time, he learned it was bigger than just a single moment.
“It was a day that didn’t impair the U.S. but instead gave it strength and unity,” Hall says. “Seeing all the brave men and women who are willing to fight to save their nation at a time of tragedy and grief reminds me of why I am joining the United States Army.”