Seneca Valley students continue 9/11 remembrance
JACKSON TWP — Thursday, Sept. 11, will mark 24 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Current high school students would not be born for at least another six years. But Seneca Valley students in the Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps still see the importance in recognizing and honoring the lives lost, despite how long ago the attacks happened.
“Even though we weren’t alive to experience the event, it’s shaped so much of our world that we’ve grown up in,” senior Dimitri Matusiak said. “Just being able to come out here, even something like placing flags, showing our respect for veterans, it means a whole lot to make sure the memories aren’t forgotten.”
Seneca Valley’s JROTC has roughly 100 students in it, doing things beyond learning leadership and problem-solving skills, such as hosting the American flag up its pole ever day outside the senior high school, and helping out with community events. On Wednesday, Sept. 10, the students took time out of their day to place small American flags all around the senior building portion of the secondary campus.
In Western Pennsylvania, 40 victims died when Flight 93 crashed in Somerset County. The official count of victims killed in the Sept. 11 attacks is 2,977, while thousands of Americans were killed in the War in Afghanistan that followed.
“Those veterans, living and deceased, gave their time, their effort, their lives, for our country. And especially those that went overseas after 9/11, they helped defend our country, they helped defend us. Giving back helps push for service and integrity,” said James Shibata, a senior who plans to enlist in the Air Force.
Despite the attacks happening years before the current Seneca Valley intermediate and senior high school students were born, the JROTC students see remembering that day as something we all should do.
By doing acts of service big and small, the JROTC students hope that teachers, students and community members can come together as one, while also remembering the lives that were lost.
“We’re always willing to help our school community. We do a lot here, we do a lot of help with the veterans, pretty much any event that school asks us to help up with,” senior Ainzley McGee said. “We always feel it’s important to be helpful to others.”
On Thursday morning, Seneca Valley’s JROTC also plans to hold a ceremony at 8:30 a.m. in front of the flagpole of the senior high school. It will include the playing of a bugle call and lowering the flag to half-staff and keeping it there for the remainder of the school day.
“Community service has always been a big thing for us. I’ve been in Scouts my whole life, my father was a Scout, my brother was an Eagle Scout and now he’s in the Army. One of the central things we’ve learned is the importance of teamwork, we really are one nation,” Matusiak said. “It’s about being able to recognize the sacrifices that people who’ve come before us, being able to look toward their example.”
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Members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Students walk past flags placed by Seneca Valley’s JROTC program in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Syrome Moore, a first lieutenant in the Seneca Valley JROTC program, helps place flags near the flagpoles as members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Ainzley McGee, left, a Seneca Valley JROTC cadet command sergeant major, helps Syrome Moore place flags at the school sign as members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Syrome Moore, a first lieutenant in the Seneca Valley JROTC program, helps place flags at the school sign as members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Ainzley McGee, a Seneca Valley JROTC cadet command sergeant major, places flags in front of the school sign as members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Ainzley McGee, a Seneca Valley JROTC cadet command sergeant major, places flags in front of the school sign as members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Ainzley McGee, left, a Seneca Valley JROTC cadet command sergeant major, helps Syrome Moore place flags at the school sign as members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Syrome Moore, a first lieutenant in the Seneca Valley JROTC program, helps place flags at the school sign as members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Maria Wilson helps place flags around the sidewalk as members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Maria Wilson helps place flags around the sidewalk as members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Students measure how far flags should be for the sidewalk with their foot after members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus in preparation for their 9/11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Members of the Seneca Valley JROTC program place over 100 flags around the school campus Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in preparation for their 9/11 event. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
