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Stephen Montoya
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Stephen Montoya
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Stephen Montoya
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Stephen Montoya
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Stephen Montoya
Over a hundred first responders lined up in front of City Center at 301 Commerce St. in downtown Fort Worth, on Saturday morning. This scene, usually only witnessed during a major emergency, was, instead, one of hope and remembrance.
These responders, many of which were decked out in full bunker gear, lined up to participate in the 3rd annual memorial tower climb, hosted by City Center Security and City Center Management.
Participants in this event were given the name of a first responder who died during the attacks on the World Trade Center in the form of a lanyard to wear around their necks as they ascended the 36 floors of the City Center three times. The reason behind this repetitious trek is to try and equal the 110 floors, or 2,071 steps first responders at the World Trade Center would’ve climbed on that fateful day.
Before the actual climb took place, various tributes to the fallen first responders took place, including the local Pipe & Drum Band opening the ceremony with a touching rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Also, a series of bells tolled to mark the times of the strike of each tower, the attack on the Pentagon, and the crash of Flight 93. Each of these times was observed with a moment of silence.
“It is incredibly special to look out today and attempt to remember what happened to this country over 23 years ago,” Mayor Mattie Parker said during the opening ceremony. “And I'm very proud that this city and this state continues to say, ‘Never forget.’
Parker says she and her husband have done their best to talk with their sons, one eight, and the other 13, about how important September 11th is to us as a country.
“What does it mean as parents to make sure our children never forget? Because we know that as time goes on, it's very easy to just think of this as a short chapter in our history, but that's simply not the case. It was truly a defining moment in the United States of America,” she continued.
And this notion doesn’t just play out with the youth of tomorrow. There were many first responders in attendance at this tower climb who were mere babies on September 11, 2001.
Steven Scholfield, 25, a member of the Euless Fire Department, says he grew up hearing about 9/11 his whole life, but since he was only 4 years old at the time, it didn’t faze him until later on.
“I asked my mom, and she said that they were watching it on television, and it was kind of like the whole world stopped for a minute, but I don't remember anything personally,” he says.
New to the field of firefighting, Scholfield says he’s in awe of the first responders who answered the call to go into the Twin Towers and help anyone they could.
“Protecting the people and the public and doing it out of the goodness of their hearts is just amazing to me,” he says. “They went up there in a scary time when other people were scared, but they did it anyways.”
Scholfield’s not alone, he’s sitting next to Chris Williamson a 17-year veteran firefighter also out of Euless who remembers 9/11 very well.
“We were headed to class, and we heard it on the radio and then went to our first class and they were talking about it, and then we ended up going home,” Williamson says.
In 2001, Williamson says he and his wife were both struggling college students who did not realize the magnitude of what was going on until they got home.
“We ended up going back home and flipping on the TV and then my wife just put in VHS tape after VHS tape, recording everything that was happening. It was just unbelievable to witness that occurring. I can't imagine what people were going through that were actually there,” he says.
Williamson says witnessing what took place on Sept. 11 inspired him to join the fire department.
“There are times when we can't believe that we get paid to do what we do, and just every day is different,” Williamson says. “Every day is kind of like Christmas. You're not sure what the shift's going to entail. It's not the nine to five that you go in and punch some numbers every day. And so, every day is an adventure.”
