by Devlin Calley and Gabriela Villaseñor
At 6 a.m. on Sept. 11, Cameron University Military Science Club (MSC) hosted its annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Cameron Stadium alongside local first responders and members of the Lawton/Fort Sill community.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, when 19 members of al-Qaida carried out the deadliest foreign attacks in U.S. history.
The coordinated assault involved hijacking four commercial airliners to strike the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
During the attacks, 2,977 people lost their lives, and twenty-five years later, the Cameron community still dedicates this morning to honoring their memory and promising to “Never Forget.”
The Cameron ROTC Comanche Battalion Color Guard started the event with a presentation of colors, followed by an invocation from Retired Army Col. Jerry Jones.
All participants then proceeded to the stadium stairs where the boom of “Big Ollie,” Cameron’s ceremonial cannon, signaled the start of their climb.
For the next hour and a half, participants completed seven laps around the stadium’s stands, ascending and descending 110 flights of stairs in symbolic honor of the World Trade Center towers.
MSC sponsor Robin Hamilton has helped organize the stair climb for four years and commented on the event’s immense growth, especially on this milestone anniversary.
“Last year, we just had the cadets plus about ten people,” Hamilton said. “This year we’re expecting 100 people from Fort Sill, the fire department and sports teams.”
Hamilton was a schoolteacher in Ada, Oklahoma, during the attacks and recalled the fear that swept through the school as terrified parents rushed to pull their children from class.
Hamilton emphasized the importance of remembering 9/11 and its impact by bringing the once-fearful community together. Lawton Police Officer Andrew Grubbs echoed Hamilton’s sentiment.
“As I was climbing the stairs, I was thinking about the people next to me,” Grubbs said. “I was thinking about my brothers in blue, our brothers in red.”
Grubbs, who was in school during the attacks, remembers his parents’ reaction and how the country came together afterward.
That sense of unity inspired his service, and now, as an Lawton Police Department training officer, he hopes events like the stair climb can inspire the next generation of officers.
For first responders in New York City, the devastation of the attack was especially catastrophic after two of the hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center towers.
The subsequent progressive collapse of the Twin Towers destroyed much of the 16-acre World Trade Center complex and surrounding area.
In New York alone, a total of 2,753 victims lost their lives, including 441 first responders, many of whom were working to evacuate the area following the attack.
According to the 9/11 Commission Report, first responders’ evacuation efforts saved an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 lives.
Interested readers can view the complete historical account and findings, including details about the attack on the Pentagon and the crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States website.
In the year immediately following the 9/11 attacks, military enlistment surged, with nearly 255,000 Americans joining active-duty and reserve forces, according to the Department of Defense.
Army 1st Sgt. Mathew Rodriguez described the morning of 9/11 as surreal.
Rodriguez, then a sergeant in the Army Reserves stationed in California, was supposed to go home that day.
While driving from Southern California to his unit in Sacramento, Rodriguez learned on the radio that the first plane had struck the World Trade Center.
Before Rodriguez arrived, the second plane struck, prompting his command to lock down the unit.
He spent the next several days working long shifts, unsure when he would see his family again.
For Rodriguez, 9/11 was a wake-up call, and the stair climb serves to remember those lost, their sacrifices and the lessons of that day.
Although military recruitment has not seen similar numbers since 9/11, the attacks continue to influence Americans who choose to serve, including MSC President and Cameron University junior, Warren Jones.
Jones was not alive when the 9/11 attacks occurred, but he participated in the stair climb for the third time this year and, as MSC president, organized the event.
Despite the difficulty of organizing the climb and the climb itself, Jones said he kept one thought in mind as he made his way up the stadium stairs: “Just remember where we come from.”
As a third-year cadet, Jones plans to receive his commission in spring 2028 and continue his military service, carrying the lessons and memories of 9/11 with him.
Cameron University students interested in joining the Military Science Club or participating in future events can contact the Military Science Department at (580) 581-2340 or at military@cameron.edu