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RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany –
U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 435th Construction and Training Squadron gathered on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Sep. 11, 2020, to honor the 343 first responders that lost their lives during 9/11.
Every year the 435th CTS hosts the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. Twenty participants climbed 110 flights of stairs, the same number of flights in the Twin Towers, to remember the first responders that passed away during 9/11.
Staff Sgt. Brett Aldrich, 435th CTS fire academy instructor, organized this year’s stair climb.
“We had a lot of people in our unit that wanted to come out and support,” Aldrich said. “As a first responder, this means a lot to me.”
Participants climbed a three-story training tower, keeping a tally board at the bottom of how many flights they climbed. They also wore oxygen packs that firefighters wear when responding to calls. That added 35 extra pounds to their climb.
“After being trained to respond to these calls and knowing all the gear that they have to put on, looking back at what these people did, that’s crazy,” Aldrich said. “The two biggest buildings in America at the time are coming down and you’re running in there trying to pull people out.”
This memorial gave participants perspective on what hundreds of first responders had to go through 19 years ago.
“Climbing up stairs sounds pretty simple but you start and it’s just not,” said Staff Sgt. Jared Swan, 435th CTS Silver Flag instructor. “I started to get tired and I wasn’t even facing half the challenges they had to face.”
The 435th CTS plans to continue hosting the stair climb.
“This helps keep their memory alive,” Aldrich said. “We don’t want to ever forget what happened.”
First responders around the Air Force participate in a 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb with the same hope of keeping the memory of their 343 fallen teammates alive.
| Date Taken: | 11.09.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 10.02.2020 05:14 |
| Story ID: | 379786 |
| Location: | DE |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, by TSgt Jourdan Barrons, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
