Seneca Valley School District honors 9/11 in ceremony
Members of Seneca Valley's JROTC unit led a memorial ceremony honoring the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on Friday morning.
Cadets stood at attention as members of the group lowered the American flag to half-mast and gave a memorial speech. The memorial was livestreamed into the school buildings to avoid crowding or disrupting campus, but some teachers were able to take their classes outside. Students were given the chance to watch and the district observed a moment of silence.
Command Sergeant Major Nathaniel Nuzzo and Battalion Commander Emma Stitzenberg, both senior students at Seneca Valley, led the ceremony.
“We're happy to do this,” Nuzzo said. “I believe it's our job as Americans to never forget moments like these that are so tragic. We should definitely hold ceremonies for this to never forget.”Logan Randall, a 10th grade student who is a part of Seneca Valley's JROTC program, played Taps on a bugle as part of the memorial.“We do parades all the time, and we have ceremonies all the time,” Randall said. “We believe it's our duty as citizens of the United States to honor everything that's happened, and it's our duty to not forget.”After the ceremony, Kolton Sittig, a 2018 Seneca Valley graduate who serves in the Air Force as a C-17 loadmaster, presented the group with a flag that he flew on deployment, including in combat zones in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.“I brought this here to present to you guys because JROTC was a really good stepping-off point for the start of my career,” Sittig said. “For any of you that want to join, this is a great start to any career you might want to do in the military.”<b> A portion of this story is shared with you as a digital media exclusive. The full story will be available tomorrow for subscribers. Please consider supporting our local, independent newsroom by subscribing at butlereagle.com. </b>
