Cleveland High School JROTC honors 9/11 first responders, step by step

From Local 3 News: JROTC cadets at Cleveland High School honored the brave 9/11 first responders Thursday, step by step. They walked 2,200 steps; the same number it would've taken to reach the top of the 110-story World Trade Center.

As the cadets completed 11 laps up and down the stadium bleachers, they reflected on a dark day in the nation's history 24 years ago, before they were even born.

“None of them were born when this happened, and [it's important] for them to remember what the firemen did," Master Sergeant Chris Berney said. “Hopefully, they know what the sacrifice was that the firemen did, by going in and having to go up all those flights of stairs, and that they sacrificed their lives.”

Lead cadet Grant Hargett said while all the steps tired out the cadets, it's worth it to remember the sacrifice of first responders.

"All of the first responders had their full gear on, they had those big old heavy oxygen tanks, they had their full gear and that’s a lot of weight," Hargett said. "And what we did wasn’t fully that, but a lot of cadets were struggling with it. It really shows how hard that was for them.”

In history classes, teachers replayed the terrifying images forever ingrained in many people's memories. Those images are now lessons for a generation that didn't experience that tragic moment.

“It was such a solemn day of reflection, and a day to understand what it means to be an American," said director of schools Jeff Elliott, who was assistant principal at Cleveland Middle School that day.

On Sept. 11, Berney was a member of the Tennessee Air National Guard and worked at Airport Cadillac.

“It was kind of an eerie day, when I heard about it, because all the planes had to land," he said. "You always heard planes landing and taking off, and it was totally quiet that day.”
Berney said he hopes the spirit of teamwork the cadets shared in their tribute inspires people to come together at all times, not just after tragedies.

“Why does it take a tragic event for us to come together as a nation, to get over things?" Berney said. "Why does it take something like that for us to be a team? Why can’t we always be that way?”