Military and 9/11 to be remembered at Clemson’s Military Appreciation Day

CLEMSON, SC – September 1, 2011 – The Clemson University Athletic Department will recognize and honor fallen soldiers, veterans and current military personnel serving in the armed forces during Military Appreciation Day pregame and halftime ceremonies of the Clemson-Wofford football game, which begins at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Retired New York City firefighter Dennis Amodio will participate in a 9/11 remembrance.

Amodio and area first responders will be recognized during the first quarter of the football game. Amodio was assigned to Rescue Company 1, special operations, in New York City. He assisted with rescue operations at the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and on Sept. 11, 2001.

For 24 hours prior to kickoff, beginning at 3:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 9, the Clemson University Company C-4 Pershing Rifles national champion drill team will guard the Scroll of Honor Memorial across the street from Memorial Stadium. The changing of the guard will take place at the top of every hour and will be similar to the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. They will conduct a Retreat Ceremony at noon Saturday, Sept. 10, and then re-post the national colors. 

Commemorative T-shirts are available online and at local stores. A portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to the Army and Air Force ROTC programs at Clemson.

Events on Military Appreciation Day include:

•     Military displays will be set up on Bowman Field at 9 a.m.
•     2,977 American flags will be planted on Bowman Field on Saturday morning as a memorial to all those who died on 9/11. The flags will be set up through the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 11.
•     Pre-game events include a concert in the amphitheater in front of Cooper Library beginning at 1:30 p.m. The Upstate Pipe Band and the Clemson Tiger Band will perform.
•     Veterans and current soldiers are invited to participate in a parade to the stadium at 2:15 p.m. Line up outside Holmes and McCabe dormitories on Fort Hill Street. Participants include the Pershing Rifles, a riderless horse, a World War II Jeep, Clemson Army, Air Force ROTC and Marine officer candidates, cadets from Wofford’s Army ROTC and The Summerall Guard from The Citadel. The Clemson Tiger mascot, cheerleaders and Tiger Band also will be in the parade.
•     Pregame activities on the football field include the Clemson band military salute. Cadet commanders from the Army and Air Force ROTC and a student from the Marines Officers Training Program will dot the “i” when the band spells out Tigers on the field. Additional pregame activities include the presentation of colors by the United States Marine Corps Color Guard from Parris Island; the introduction of 20 families of fallen soldiers from South Carolina followed by a flyover of four F-16s from the 169th Fighter Wing of the South Carolina Air National Guard at the conclusion of the national anthem; the placement of a wreath, helmet and boots by the Clemson University Ranger Club; and a 21-gun salute by the Pershing Rifles from the Hill and the playing of Taps.
•     Members of the South Carolina Army National Guard will conduct the coin toss ahead of the game. The South Carolina National Guard has designed the coin that will be used. It honors all the soldiers killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
•     At the end of the first quarter of the football game, members of the Wounded Warriors Program will be introduced in the East End Zone.
•     Halftime events will feature a parade of veterans and current soldiers onto the field. Veterans and current soldiers from Clemson and Wofford are invited to participate and encouraged to gather at the West End Zone five minutes before halftime. The Citadel’s Summerall Guard will perform a seven-minute silent drill march to honor the men of Clemson Agricultural College who performed in the Senior Platoon from 1930-1960. The Clemson Tiger Band then will play the military hymns of the five service branches.