September 12th
Spirit

Firefighters in stadium giving respect to victims of 9/11
By William Reimers

Most days, I teach about horrible people and the horrible things they’ve done. It’s part of being a history teacher- usually these things are far in the past and so it’s easier to keep some objectivity. However, it’s very different to teach about things that have happened in my lifetime, most significantly the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Even though these events were twenty years ago, they are as clear and vivid to me as if they were yesterday. I was always deeply moved by the empathy the world showed in support of the United States on the 12th of September, 2001. And I remember the compassion Americans had in supporting each other. Americans spend a tremendous amount of time talking about how we are all different, but that day we were all focused on what we had in common. I wanted to see if after twenty years this spirit can still be found, so I went to the place I though most likely to find it, the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Stair Climb.

Salt River Fields was just farmland in 2001, but now is home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies Spring Training stadium. It also, by coincidence, has almost the same amount of steps inside the stadium as were inside one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Over the last five years, Arizona firefighters, their families and friend have gathered each September to weave up and down the steps of the stadium as a memorial fundraiser to support the families of NYC Fire Department. There is still a need for support- mental health counseling and physical therapy for survivors, scholarships for children of firefighters who did not return and so on. The opening ceremonies were somber, as appropriate- bagpipers played in as colors were posted, speeches were made by dignitaries and the crowd was respectful. Then firefighters suited up in their helmets, coats, pants, boots and oxygen tanks. There was a hush for a moment of silence, then over 1000 Arizonans began the climb.

Most of the firefighters must have been in elementary school in 2001. As they marched with determination up and down the beginning flights of stairs, civilians followed. Admiring firefighters is easy even in 2021- is there something still to admire about Americans? I was looking for fleeting moments in a mass of motion- and they were there. The older flight attendant, with her foot in a medical boot, being encouraged and cheered by others for her dedication. The mothers helping their kids climb in respect for those who will always be history but not memory. A woman offering an exhausted firefighter some cold water so he could continue. Political differences, racial differences, class differences- all the differences were still present, but not divisive. We were just Americans, united.

Eighty thousand dollars was donated to Fallen Fighterfighters that night. After two laps of the stadium, my knees were sore. I’m also twenty years older than in 2001- quit working in steel processing, traveled a bit, then TGB for the last 16 years. I’ve seen a few things in that time. Despite what is on your social media feed, or the blaring television or the talk radio, Americans do care about each other. Sometimes not without enough listening, sometimes to deeply, sometimes from selfish interests and sometimes from common interests. Essentially we’re stuck with each other, and deep down we know it. I would encourage you to take that as a blessing- care for friends, our school and our community. We’re in a pandemic- we don’t know if we’re in the beginning, middle or end. But we can be there together.