The public is invited to join the MTSU community for the university’s second 9/11 Observance at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, at the Veterans Memorial site outside the Tom H. Jackson Building.

In this September 2015 file photo, MTSU ROTC cadets salute during the playing of  “Taps” at the university’s 9/11 Observance on the 14th anniversary of the deadly terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. That event was held at the MTSU Veterans Memorial. (MTSU file photo by J. Intintoli)

Led by cadets in the program, MTSU’s Department of Military Science will conduct the event to observe the 15th anniversary of a series of four coordinated suicide attacks by the Islamic extremist group al-Qaida on U.S. landmarks, which occurred Sept. 11, 2001.

To find parking for the event, visit http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap.

Guest speakers will be Keith M. Huber, senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives at the university, and Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, MTSU president.

Huber, a Franklin, Tennessee, resident who joined MTSU in January 2015, spent nearly 40 years in the military, retiring as a U.S. Army lieutenant general. McPhee is MTSU’s 10th president, taking the post in 2001.

The event program includes:

• A welcome provided by senior chemistry major Sara Crum, an ROTC cadet.
• A prayer and moment of silence led by graduate student and chemistry/business administration student Shanika Willis, president of the Blue Raider American Veterans Organization.
• Remarks by McPhee and Huber.
• “Taps,” performed by cadet Joe Bell.
• Closing remarks and dismissal.

Keith M. Huber

Dr. Sidney A. McPhee

On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 terrorists hijacked four airliners, flying two into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and a third into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Passengers on the fourth plane, United Flight 93, fought with the hijackers and forced the aircraft down into a field in Pennsylvania, diverting it from its still-unknown intended terrorism target.

All told, more than 3,000 people died during the attacks on New York and Washington, including more than 400 firefighters and police officers, as well as those on the four planes.

To learn more about the MTSU Veterans Memorial, visit www.mtsu.edu/military/memorial. Military science is one of 11 College of Basic and Applied Sciences departments. To learn more, visit www.mtsu.edu/arotc1.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)