EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso Community College marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a Freedom Walk on Friday, bringing students, employees, and community members together at the Valle Verde campus.
The EPCC Office of Intramural Sports hosted the 9/11 EPCC Freedom Walk, with the college’s Veterans Resource Center partnering in the event.
Organizers said the walk around campus allowed students, staff, faculty, and the community an opportunity to remember those who died in the 2001 attacks.
“We at the college want take time and pause and remember that fateful day 25 years ago,” said Veterans Resource Center Director Carl Dwyer, a 31-year veteran of the U.S. Army. “Many students and staff weren’t born when the event happened, so they didn’t experience it like many others, so we’re not only remembering, but we’re teaching and educating and sharing our history so that everyone knows the significance and importance of Patriot Day to our country.”
The event included a presentation of colors and the national anthem. EPCC also presented the Red, White and Blue Armed Forces Service Cord to Anthony Jones, a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force and an EPCC athletic assistant who helped organize the Freedom Walk.
“Even to this day, I have a hard time putting into words,” Jones said. “It hurt me to my core. And afterwards, the way people came together, willing to help each other, we came together in the aftermath as one nation.”
According to EPCC, more than 100 students, staff, faculty, and community members attended, including many veterans.
After the walk, attendees gathered to reflect on the events of 25 years ago.
“I’m here to remember, and it means a lot to be here. It’s something that happened, and I just wanted to be here in this moment to honor them,” said Nahum Mena, a kinesiology major.
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