NATCHEZ — Vidalia resident Brittney Rivens will always remember where she was when she heard the news of the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001.

“I was getting ready to go to work and watching the news, when I heard about the first plane,” she said. “It was almost like at that moment, I knew this was the start to something big, and I knew that the world would be different.”

With the 10th anniversary of the attacks less than two months away, Rivens and the rest of the Miss-Lou had the opportunity to commemorate all those who died protecting the country since Sept. 11, when the “Ruck March to Remember” made it’s way through the area Tuesday.

“This is a good reflection point for people to go out and remember this event,” Columbus Air Force Base Public Affairs SSgt. Bryan “Bubba” Franks said.

Franks said 23 Air Force units from around the country are participating in the 2,181-mile march, with the Columbus base making the trek through the Miss-Lou.

“All of these soldiers that are marching are volunteers doing the work on their own time,” he said. “Each unit has roughly 140 to 160 miles they each march.”

The soldiers marched on the roadway one at a time, carrying an Air Force flag with a sea of police and military vehicles following close behind.

Franks said the march started July 12 from the Air Force Security Forces Center in San Antonio, and is scheduled to end Sept. 11 at Ground Zero.

“These air men are walking through towns in which a lot of people have gone off, served and died for their country, and many of these people are nowhere near military towns,” he said. “The march allows people from all over to remember what happened, and to know there are still guys out there fighting to keep us free every day.”

The group from Columbus started on the east side on Jonesville at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, and Franks said their stretch of the journey will end at noon Thursday in Brookhaven.

“That is where they will be ending their leg and handing it off to Herbert Field,” he said.

Rivens watched the group march through Vidalia Tuesday and said she was blessed with a new sense of patriotism.

“It is hard to believe that it has been nearly 10 years since the attacks,” she said. “It was such a huge part of history, and this march is just another way for us to make sure we never forget that.”

While the marchers are scheduled to be out of Natchez Tuesday night, Miss-Lou residents wanting to pay their respects to the Columbus base volunteers will have an opportunity tonight.

According to a press release from the City of Vidalia, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Riverview RV Park there will be a meet and greet with the soldiers.

The soldiers are feeding themselves for the march, and anyone wanting to donate any food or drink items to the soldiers can bring them to the meet and greet.