Valley Forge Military College Cadets honor 9/11 victims annually with a stair climb.

The cadets are honoring honor those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attack and those servicemen and women who gave their lives after that day to preserve and protect the freedoms all Americans hold dear.

The ROTC conducts a stair climb of 2,200 steps around the Wayne campus of Valley Forge Military Academy & College.

The 2,200 steps represent the 110 stories of the World Trade Center, honoring the 343 FDNY firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11.

Most involved were not born at the time of the 9/11 attacks.

On September 11, 2001, VFMAC graduate Durrell V. Pearsall Jr., VFMA class of ’86, ran into the burning World Trade Centers to and stationed himself on the upper floors to guide others to safety.

Pearsall was part of the Elite Fire Rescue 4 of the Fire Department of New York and was one of 343 firefighters who gave their lives that day.

“VFMAC is where Mr. Pearsall first embraced a vow putting others before self,” said Stuart B. Helgeson, USMC (Ret), president of Valley Forge Military Academy and College.

He received posthumously Valley Forge’s Order of Anthony Wayne – established in 1929 to honor cadets ran into a burning school to help others to safety.

It is the highest honor presented by VFMAC to those who demonstrate exceptional public service nationally or internationally.

Pearsall entered VFMA for a post-graduate year, graduating in the class of 1986.