RICHMOND, Va. -- Soldiers, first responders, and students gathered at VCU on Friday for a ceremony that honored those who died on September 11, 2001.
Following a wreath-laying ceremony, soldiers from Ft. Lee set out on a ruck around campus.
They carried their packs and counted their steps to symbolize the march first responders took to the top of the World Trade Center.
Army recruiters also hosted a physical fitness challenge for future soldiers, most of whom weren’t alive when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan following 9/11.
"Thank you to VCU for supporting this and reminding everybody what service is about," U.S. Army Col. Toni Rieke said. "And [for] reminding everyone what we lost on that day, what the cost was, and what the commitment to service means for days like that."
Rieke swore in more than a dozen new soldiers who took the oath of enlistment vowing to support and defend the constitution of the United States.
