SAN ANTONIO — Remembering 9/11 Monday morning as people from around the country came together in the Alamo City for the San Antonio 110 9/11 Memorial Climb at the Tower of the Americas.
500 first responders and hundreds of military members and civilians climbed the steps at the Tower of the Americas twice, representing the 110 floors of the World Trade Towers and actually exceeding the number of steps many first responders took 22 years ago on September 11.Those physical and emotional steps were taken in remembrance of the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives.
"You're a totally different person when you put on that uniform and go out there to perform the duties that you were taught," Richard Burton, a retired firefighter explained.
After serving 25 years as a firefighter, Burton said he makes the climb every year.
"I'm representing Robert Kerwin, he was one of the fallen brothers who were in the tower that morning," Burton said pointing to the tags worn to honor those fallen heroes as they make the climb.
People making the climb paused in silence for a moment of remembrance starting at 8:46 a.m. when the World Trade Center North Tower was struck.
"You kind of put yourself in that situation. What they must have been feeling, you know, they hear alarms going off, they smell smoke. They see fire. The explosions. You kind of put yourself in that spot, and it's a very humbling experience because at that point you realize you're this small and you have no control over what's happening around you," Julie Lara, who is climbing for her third year, described.
First responders around the country started the initial climb wearing a name tag and carrying a photo of the 343 firefighters, police officers, and EMS crews who died responding to the world trade center.
More than 100 agencies came together to raise funds for first responders, and volunteers from East Central High School Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps passed out water in the stairwell as people made the climb.
"Volunteering here today is encouraging our youth, who maybe wasn't even born during this time, to feel that empathy for the people that we've lost and the people who made the ultimate sacrifice today, and really rounding the significance and feeling the gravity of what happened," Savannah Lujan a Senior in the JROTC said.
San Antonio 110 9/11 Memorial Climb is one of the largest memorial climbs in the country, with more than $100,000 dollars donated so far to organizations helping first responders.
You can donate online to their efforts at sanantonio110.com.
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