Virginia Military Institute Chaplain Col. John P. Casper, class of 2004, still remembers vividly how September 11, 2001, played out on campus during his sophomore year.
That ordinary September day started out quietly – but suddenly, everything changed.
“I remember that there was some commotion out in the hallway,” Casper said. “And then, I remember somebody came in to say something to the professor, and we were able to turn on the TVs to see what was happening. Nobody really understood the gravity of the situation or what was happening.”
More than 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, including two VMI alumni. It would be a long time before anyone on post knew the full extent of the devastation. But Casper said the mood immediately shifted.
That night, cadets gathered and watched President George W. Bush address the nation on a makeshift movie screen draped from the fourth stop of the barracks. “There was a clear paradigm shift after that address,” Casper said. “You couldn’t really compare it to anything, aside from maybe how folks felt after Pearl Harbor. The atmosphere in barracks was totally changed after that. You knew that that there had been this kind of shift in perspective and the mission of the military and the direction that the United States was going to go in.”
Casper recalled that some cadets resigned immediately to enlist, not even waiting to for commission. Others who were in the National Guard or Reserves left or were deployed within days.
“The whole atmosphere in barracks really changed, and in large part, really reflected what was going on in the nation, in that there was a sense of united purpose and resolve,” Casper said.
Casper also remembers the huge flag draped on the front of VMI’s barracks.
“It was it was a parade flag, so it covered most of the front entrance of barracks,” Casper said. “You don’t really understand or get a grip of the gravity of the situation until months later, and then it really starts to hit home.”
Casper decided to stay at VMI, holding several administrative positions before leaving for theology school and eventually returning to live on post full-time again as a chaplain.
But some things on post never change. Twenty-five years later, the barracks are still at the heart of commemorating the lives lost on 9/11, as well as in the years after, as the U.S. military sought out the terrorist responsible. Along with the two VMI alums killed on 9/11, 13 more VMI alumni were killed in the subsequent war on terror.
This year, on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, nearly 1,000 VMI cadets participated in the post’s annual “stair climb” in memory of those who died in the attacks. Donning backpacks with photographs of 9/11 victims, cadets climb the barracks steps from the first to the fourth stoop 37 times, replicating the 110 stories that first responders confronted during rescue attempts at the World Trade Center’s twin towers after the attacks. (See separate story for more.)
