In this research paper, the rotordynamic characteristics of a vertical rotor equipped with a squeeze-film damper were investigated. An impact test was simulated on a slender mid-span rotor supported by two structural assemblies located at the top and bottom ends of the shaft. Each assembly consisted of an eight-shoe tilting-pad journal bearing, a squeeze-film damper, and a bracket. The modal parameters were extracted using a continuous wavelet transform. Simulations were performed for two configurations, i.e., one with the squeeze-film damper and one without, to assess the influence of the squeeze-film damper on the overall system’s dynamics. Additional factors, such as rotor speed and unbalance mass, were also varied in the simulations to evaluate their effects. The results showed that the squeeze-film damper significantly improved the damping characteristics of the vertical rotor. Experimental tests were conducted to validate the simulation results, yielding good agreement between the simulations and the experiments.