Local emergency responders remember, honor 9/11
Kyle Schmidt
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — 24 years ago, tragedy struck New York City and the United States of America as a whole.
To this day, the terror attack on the World Trade Centers is not forgotten, and the heroes who risked their lives saving others are forever recognized.
“It is truly a brotherhood, sisterhood,” Emergency Manager Bill Lamar said. “If one of us anywhere throughout the country gets hurt or killed, it’s impactful for us just because we know pretty much exactly what they are going through.”
Lamar remembers 24 years ago, getting ready to work ambulance in Savannah on his day off, receiving texts from other firefighters to turn the television on and to watch what was transpiring.
Like Lamar, Captain of Rescue 1, Shane Southard, remembers working in St. Joseph during the attack.
“I was in the back doing something and the guys in the front kind of started screaming because the first plane hit the building,” Southard said. “I came in the room and there was a lot of confusion.”
Southard said it’s important to remember the day and the people who made the ultimate sacrifice for others, they didn’t even know.
“For us, we have about 130 personnel on our department, and to think that 343 firefighters passed away all in basically one instance, that’s just hard to wrap your head around,” Lamar said. “To realize all of the other police and responders that were killed and then so many of the innocent citizens that were killed… It makes you want to somehow remember these folks for the impact that it caused everybody.”
A total of 2,977 victims were killed in the four orchestrated terror attacks.
To remember and honor the victims, MoWest held an event early Thursday morning.
Participants climbed the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs inside Spratt Stadium, representing the 110 flights of stairs inside the World Trade Center.
“It’s important to come out here just to remember what happened back in 2001 on this day,” participant Kari Hayes said. “To remember the sacrifices the other people ahead of us have made.”
Assistant Police Chief at MoWest’s police department, Trenny Wilson, watched on as participants climbed the stairs. She said it is incredibly important for everyone to always remember the day.
“The ultimate sacrifice that so many people made; firefighters, police officers, civilians, anybody that was there that day and around the world,” Wilson said. “Just that ultimate sacrifice, and its unity, it brought our country together at that time and still collectively comes together now.”