The light sheet of rain was enough to remind them why they were there.
It misted the cheeks of the 131 cadets who gathered Wednesday at 6 a.m. for Run to Remember, an event coordinated by the UF Air Force ROTC to commemorate Veterans Day.
While it wasn’t enough to soak through their uniform gray T-shirts, it formed trails of dewdrops in their hair.
Air Force ROTC Cadet Lori Bowen said the rain was a symbol of wars previously fought.
“It gives us a certain sense of remembrance,” the applied physiology and kinesiology senior said.
Tyler Holley, an Air Force ROTC cadet, coordinated the event in an effort to pay homage to American veterans.
“I think Veterans Day is a day you can recognize and honor the people that have come before you,” Holley said.
Participating cadets ran from University Avenue to Fletcher Drive, trailing west on Stadium Road and looping back on Gale Lemerand Drive.
The runs were spread throughout the event in groups of 15 to 20 cadets. Between laps, groups performed routine exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups.
The cadets were also given free time to play football and Ultimate Frisbee with their flight mates.
But at 6:45 a.m., everyone stopped.
The cadets gathered in a horseshoe formation for a vigil, observing a moment of silence just as the sun peaked through the rainclouds.
Maj. James W. Bodnar, an ROTC Air Force instructor, stressed the importance of respecting veterans as war wages on in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“We have two wars going on, and a lot of people forget that,” he said. “People forget that they’re out there every single day in some pretty austere conditions, often fighting against a hidden enemy.”
And as wars persist around the globe, Jenicia McFadden, a UF sophomore and Air Force ROTC cadet, sees something worth fighting for.
“I think it’s just important to remember that somebody has to fight for our freedom,” she said. “If we didn’t fight for our freedom, we wouldn’t be where we are now.”
