On Tuesday, Sept. 11, a Seven Volley Salute will take place to commemorate those who died in the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
The salute will follow a rose-laying ceremony from 8:50-9a.m. and will take place just once, according to a memorandum sent to Dean Gary Cornia of the Marriott School.
Three trained ROTC cadets will fire seven blank rounds each using rifle designed to fire only blank ammunition.
In military funerals, rifles are fired as a sign of respect for those that have fallen. According to Cadet Christopher Riley, public affairs officer for the Army ROTC, this practice dates back to an old battlefield custom.
“Both sides would stop fighting long enough to remove the dead and wounded and then they would fire their weapons into the air to signal that the dead had been cleared,” Riley said.
Cadet Capt. Andrew Hodges, public affairs officer for the Air Force ROTC, said that his job is to make sure that there is no chaos on campus when they do the Seven Volley Salute.
“We want people to enjoy this ceremony,” Hodges said.
The public is welcome to watch the flag, flower-laying, rifle ceremony and are also encouraged to pay their respects to those who lost their lives on 9/11.
There will be an area at the base of the flagpole for the public to lay flowers. There will also be respectful bios and pictures along the courtyard of those involved in 9/11.
