GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The attacks on 9/11 are a memory that everyone alive to watch still carries with them, but for our first responders, it’s a memory they literally carry every year at the Grand Rapids 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.
110 stories.
That was the height of the World Trade Centers.
And 110 stories is the distance firefighters and other participants will climb at LMCU ballpark starting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, to pay tribute to those who gave their lives on 9/11.
“It was the greatest loss of life for the fire department in our country's history, but it was also the greatest rescue mission of all time,” Cascade Township firefighter Lnace Korhorn told me. He started this event here in West Michigan and has seen it grow over the years, with some climbers choosing to wear the same heavy gear that the first responders wore that day in September.
“Once you carry an air pack and a couple of tools and you're carrying extra bottles, it's 75-80 pounds.”
That weight adds up over 110 stories, but carrying the memory of those who didn't make it home weighs a lot more.
“Everybody's carrying a tag of somebody that died on September 11, or firefighters who have died as a result of cancers after the fact. And so each year, I carry somebody and climb with them. And that's some that's a tag that I'll keep with me throughout the year. And just remember, you know, the work that they put in, and it was, it was a sacrifice that was made.”
This event honors not only our first responders but also supports the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which provides assistance to the families of fallen firefighters.
Doing a little good to help those who are still here and remember those who left too soon.
"If events like this don't exist, it's a forgotten memory that you know is talked about on September 11, and will be progressively less and less as time goes on."
Registration is open until the event starts at 9:00 AM on Saturday, September 6th. Spectators are also welcome. Click here for more information.
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