HERRIMAN, Utah -- A Utah teacher was honored Wednesday for his heroic actions on Sept. 11, 2001.
Ryan White is a history teacher at Providence Hall Charter School in Herriman. White is also a former member of the U.S. Coast Guard Honor Guard, and was stationed in Washington D.C. on the day of the 9/11 terror attacks.
White was on his way to the Pentagon when the building was hit. He jumped into action to rescue and recover people in the building, and as a result, suffered several injuries that forced him to retire from the military.
Shortly after White began teaching at Providence Hall, he started a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the school. The program has since grown to an authorized JROTC program sponsored by Camp Williams.
On the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, members of the Providence Hall JROTC program lined up in formation in front of the school in full uniform. The students stood at attention for 30 minutes before school started to honor their teacher.
In a prepared statement, Providence Hall Superintendent Erin Preston expressed her gratitude to White.
"For our students, staff and families Ryan is the ongoing embodiment of patriotism and sacrifice," she said. "Within his ranks are students who have lost fathers and uncles in the Iraq war and whose parents still serve. For us, patriotism is alive and well in the halls of our school."
