The Texas State University Air Force and Army Reserves’ Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and the city of San Marcos organized memorial events to honor the first responders and people who died in the 9/11 attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Texas State Air Force and Army ROTC held their second 9/11 Stair Climb Memorial event to commemorate the service members and citizens who died during the attack on the World Trade Center’s twin towers by running up the steps of the UFCU stadium. According to Mikayla Grafton, Army ROTC public affairs officer, the cadets’ goal was to climb 2,090 steps, which was the number of steps the firefighters climbed during the rescue efforts on 9/11.
“This ROTC being out here, conducting 9/11 shows that we’re not only interested in the stuff that goes on here in our program, we’re interested in stuff that goes on around the nation and around the world, because that’s stuff that we’re going to have to deal with in the future,” Army Cadet Aiden Gonzales, Officer-in-Charge of the 9/11 Stair Climb Memorial said. “Being in RTC, we have to know our ‘why’: why we choose to put on a uniform, and why we choose to click that American flag on our right shoulder every day. And this is our ‘why.’”
The event began at 5:30 a.m. with opening remarks from Lt. Col. Brice Roberts, Department of Military Science chair and Texas State President Kelly Damphousse. The climb began at 5:50 a.m. and lasted approximately 30 minutes. Damphousse joined the cadets at the beginning of the climb.
“I hope as you’re walking up and down these stairs today, and think about those firefighters, who instead of running away from a burning building, ran toward with so many first responders,” Damphousse said in his remarks to the cadets.
There were approximately 256 Airforce and Army ROTC cadets there, which is almost the entire program. Four first responders also participated in the climb. According to Gonzales, this was a goal of the event in order to grow this event and the ROTC.
“Now that we have an established guideline set forth by [Army Cadet Cristian Rodriguez, last year’s coordinator], future cadets can now take over this event and add on to it whatever they think will increase the notoriety of this event,” Gonzales said. “One or two first responders showing up may not seem like a big deal, but to us, it’s a huge deal because those were the guys that were directly affected the day it happened.”
Roberts has climbed the steps both years now. He said his goal last year was to time the 2,090 steps, but this year he decided to run until the last cadet was done.
“And I don’t know how many laps it was, but it was a good number,” Roberts said. “I felt great about that, and just like any first responder, you’re not gonna leave somebody behind.”
After the climb, everyone in attendance gathered in the center of the field and heard closing remarks from guest speaker Jim Eyester. Eyester was a part of the New York Police Department during the 9/11 attacks and shared a small anecdote about what today means to him, with the intention to share more in a lecture to the cadets later today.
“My message is clear, let’s not forget about this,” Eyester said. “There’s a lot of young people out here that are soon to become high level of responsibility, and I was pretty pleased to see that the vast majority of them are taking this serious.”
Roberts also shared his personal memory of the 9/11 attacks as a sophomore at the United States Military Academy at West Point while his sister was in downtown Manhattan. Roberts said events like this and sharing stories with the younger generations help memorialize the event and pass on the message of readiness that the nation felt in the days after the attack.
“History comes alive when you can be a part of it, and I think bringing the students that much closer to a first responder, like, puts them in the moment, puts them in the emotions of it,” Roberts said.
The city of San Marcos also held 9/11 memorial events, with a flag raising ceremony at city hall and a memorial stair climb at the fire department’s training facility.
Every year on 9/11, the San Marcos Fire Department holds a memorial flag raising, where they raise the flag that flew over city hall on Sept. 11, 2001. During the memorial, officials from the fire department spoke of the importance of the memorial.
“On this day, Thursday, September 11, 2025, I gather in solemn remembrance to honor the heroes and the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks,” Fire Chief Les Stephens said. “Today marks the 24th anniversary of a tragedy that claimed 2977 lives across New York City, Washington, DC and Pennsylvania.”
The memorial also included a “tolling of the bell,” a tradition used by fire departments when a firefighter died in the line of duty.
“Its echo served as a final tribute, marking the end of a brave journey, and paying respect for those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to others,” Assistant Fire Chief Jim Matano said. “Today, we invoke this tradition in solemn recognition of the 343 firefighters from the FDNY who gave their lives on September 11, 2001, and in remembrance of all firefighters who have fallen in service to others. Their duty is done.”
After the speeches and tolling of the bell, members of the community were invited to place flowers in a memorial sign.
