Blacksburg volunteer firefighter Dennis Mahan showed up at 5 a.m. Friday to climb the stairs of Lane Stadium in memory of those who lost their lives 25 years ago on Sept. 11 in the terror attacks against the United States.
Virginia Tech’s motto — Ut Prosim, Latin for “that I may serve” — took on added meaning as the university hosted two events commemorating the anniversary.
Forty members of the town volunteer fire department, and dozens of Tech’s Corps of Cadets and student athletes gathered to climb up and down the stadium’s steps for 45 minutes, representing the 110 stories of New York City’s World Trade Center towers that fell that day.
“I want to respect and do everything I can to carry forward the memory of what those guys did that day,” said Mahan who, along with other volunteers, wore their firefighter gear during the climb. ”All of them were wearing some sort of gear. I felt it was the least I could do to understand just a little bit of what it was like climbing, and not even dealing with the circumstances that they were dealing with.”
Mahan wore his full uniform while others also carried oxygen tanks, tools, and fire hoses, adding up to 50 pounds of extra weight.
Lila Marble, a Tech sophomore and midfielder for the women’s lacrosse team, even climbed with a large brace on her left leg due to a sports-related injury. “It definitely was a little more difficult than I thought it would be, but for all the men and women that sacrificed their lives, it’s way more heroic than anything I could do in a boot.”
For the nine years town fire investigator and public information officer Todd Jones has been with the department, he said he’s joined with his colleagues for the annual stair climb.
“It’s quite impressive and humbling to see over a thousand cadets marching and then, weaved in between that, all the firefighters in full turnout gear,” Jones said.
Present at Lane Stadium was assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs and Tech Corp of Cadets alum Richard Anderson, who provided final remarks.
“Today is a day of memory and importance in the life of our nation. I want to thank all of you for being her today, for honoring that memory,” he said.
At 7:15 a.m., the cadets held a remembrance formation open to the general public at the flag pole in front of Lane Hall. For the sixth straight year, town firefighters joined the formation, which included a flag raising ceremony and a salute by the corps’ precision rifle drill team.
Tech alum and 9/11 first responder Mike Ward recalled in a separate interview the moment the attacks unfolded. Ward was at his Arlington apartment with his roommate, also an Arlington police officer, when they watched the news.
“We both started to call people, friends and family and then all of a sudden the plane crashed at the Pentagon and our apartment building just shook, like an earthquake,” he said.
Both immediately responded to the Pentagon, assisting people evacuate the site — Ward said he remained there for the next 22 hours.
“The motto for Tech is ‘that I may serve’ right? And that’s what we did that day,” Ward said, “so it’s important to me that I was doing that for my fellow. my neighbor, and for everybody else around me, and then obviously, in the spirit of Tech.”
That spirit will be present again in April of 2027 as the university will remember those lost on the 20th anniversary of the 2007 campus shootings.
