Sept. 11, 2023 - More than 150 students, staff members and families joined the Pieper High School JROTC and local first responders in the Third Annual 9/11 Stair Climb this morning at Pieper High School stadium.
Together, with firefighters from the Bexar-Bulverde Volunteer Fire Department wearing full gear, they climbed 2,071 steps to commemorate the 110 flights of stairs of the towers of the World Trade Center. As they walked, names of the 343 firefighters, 23 police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who lost their lives trying to save others were called.
Organized by retired Major Dave Bower, who is the senior Naval science instructor at PHS, this annual event honors the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001, when nearly 2,800 people died when terrorists crashed two hijacked planes into One and Two World Trade Center.
Cadets with the JROTC program at PHS lead the climb and are proud of the tradition that Major Bower began three years ago when the school opened its doors.
“I plan to continue this tradition even when I am out of high school,” says Cheyanne Pepper, a JROTC cadet and 11th-grade student at PHS. “I will climb 2,071 steps on this day, no matter where I am, as a way to honor and commemorate the selfless acts of the first responders on that day. This was my third year to participate, and each year, it hits me to know the sacrifice that those men and women faced on that day.”
In the News - News 4 San Antonio
-A group picture of Comal ISD students, staff members, families and area first. Responders who participated in the Third Annual 9/11 Stair Climb at Pieper High School the morning of Sept. 11.
-Firefighters with the Bexar-Bulverde Volunteer Fire Department participated in the Third Annual 9/11 Stair Climb at Pieper High School the morning of Sept. 11.
-More than 150 Comal ISD students, staff members and families participated in the Third Annual 9/11 Stair Climb at Pieper High School the morning of Sept. 11.
-Firefighters with the Bexar-Bulverde Volunteer Fire Department donned their full gear to climb the bleachers at Pieper High School’s stadium along with Comal ISD students, staff members and families.
PHS 9/11 Stair Climb photo album
Read more Comal ISD news here.