9-11 walk at Schreiner University, aims to bring focus back to the meaning of the day

Lt. Gen. Michael Oates, U.S. Army retired, thinks that many people have forgotten the significance of Sept. 11, 2001, and he wants to remember better the losses of the day and the sacrifices that followed in the years after.

With the help of several veterans groups, including Together With Hill Country Veterans, Oates and others are leading a walk at 5 p.m. on Sept. 11 at Schreiner University to commemorate the day.

“This is really a coordination with the city and county,” Oates said. “This is a community event.”

The walk starts and ends at Trailhead Beer Garden and covers the university’s perimeter. This year, Sept. 11 falls on a Wednesday.

“Everybody over the age of 25 knows where they were at on 9-11,” Oates explained. “But, we’ve kind of lost track of that event over the years. We are seeking to bring back community awareness on what happened on 9-11. Almost 3,000 of our citizens were killed on that day and then honoring the 20 years that followed.”

Oates knows firsthand about those 20 years that followed as a member of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division and the 10th Mountain Division. For gallantry during his tours in Iraq, Oates received three bronze stars.

“We had 7,000 killed over the next 20 years,” Oates said of the United States’ wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We were fighting an away game, making sure that the terrorists didn’t come back to our country.”

The walk is about 1.7 miles, and Oates reminded us that it’s an easy walk.

“Or you can stay right at the Trailhead and drink a cold beer,” Oates said with a laugh.

However, the day’s importance is the true draw for Oates and others.

“Along the way, we’re going to have some posters of soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen that we lost,” said Oates, saying that those who died from Kerr County are included in the posters.