Members of the University ROTC units will run today in memory of the nearly 3,000 lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001 and those who have died in service since the tragedy.

“Basically we’re memorializing the people who died on Sept. 11,” Alex Webb, a senior from Warner Robins and Army ROTC cadet, said. “They were going about their lives and all of a sudden they were dead – killed by people who had no business coming over here.”

Three University students died in Iraq serving the United States since the Sept. 11 attacks, said Capt. Will Cabaniss.

University alumna Ashley Huff, 23, of Belle Mead, New Jersey, was killed in a suicide bombing Sept. 19, 2006; University alumnus Noah Harris, 23, of Ellijay, was killed after an insurgent attack on his vehicle in June 2005; and Bradley Thomas Arms, a junior from Charlottesville, Va., was killed in hostile fire in November 2004.

Members of the Army and Airforce ROTC will meet at 6 a.m. at Sanford Stadium to stretch, using the time to reflect on comrades who have lost their lives in service, Lt. Col. David Baylor, the Air Force ROTC detachment commander, said.

The 5K run will begin at 6:45 a.m., and the group will run to Baldwin St., down East Campus and River roads, across Carlton Street and back up Sanford Drive to the stadium.

The run was begun by the Army ROTC program but was expanded this year to include the Navy and Marine Corps from the Navy Supply School. Civilians are also welcome to participate.

“We started the run to bolster pubic awareness of Sept. 11,” Cabaniss said. “Some of the college students were in middle school when the attack happened. This is an event we do to make sure it never fades from our minds.”

“It is a bit of a memorial to remember the attacks on our nation on Sept. 11,” Baylor said. “Our cadets are volunteering to serve our nation, a nation at war.”

“Much like World War II, this is a time that we will never forget. We should never forget Sept. 11 and why we are in this current conflict,” he said.

This will also serve as an opportunity for current ROTC members to reflect on their service.

“What happened on Sept. 11 was my motivation for joining ROTC. This reminds me why I am doing ROTC,” said Zack Darby, a cadet in Army ROTC.

Darby said he will reflect on the lives lost on Sept. 11 and the motivation for those serving.

While Cabaniss is running, he said he will think of “friends who didn’t make it back and make sure the sacrifices they made are never forgotten.”

“For me, it is significant I have lost friends and comrades in the current conflict,” Baylor said. “As a society we have become focused on instant gratification and we want stuff done now. We don’t understand our enemies are in it for the long haul. As a society it is important to look back at history and look at why it is important to win in this conflict.”