JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Monday marks 22 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people.
Innocent people were killed in New York City, at The Pentagon in Virginia and in rural Pennsylvania.
To honor their lives, there will be several events happening in northeast Florida, including one at the Williams Family YMCA on San Jose Boulevard in Mandarin.
Nick Billups is a JFRD firefighter.
He and several other firefighters will be climbing 110 floors on the Stairmaster at the YMCA in Mandarin in honor of all the first responders who climbed the stairs inside the World Trade Center.
Billups and others will be doing this in their full gear starting at 9 a.m. Monday.
A similar event is happening all day at every Crunch Fitness across the country.
It’s not just limited to first responders for the 2071-step challenge. Anyone can go to a Crunch Fitness location and participate for free from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Locations in the News4JAX viewing area include:
- 9400 Atlantic Boulevard, Jacksonville
- 13475 Atlantic Boulevard, Jacksonville
- 1919 Well Road, Orange Park
- 2002 SW 34th Street, Gainesville
Detron Johnson is the assistant general manager at Crunch Fitness Gainesville.
“You are going to be pushing yourself to the limit trying to make it up the stairs,” he said. “They are going to remember that that is what these firefighters did.”
This hits home for Johnson. His father was an EMT in New Jersey on September 11, 2011. He went back and forth to Ground Zero to take people to nearby hospitals after the attacks.
“When these firefighters were going into the buildings and trying to rescue people, they were pushing themselves to the limit to help save others,” Johnson said.
In St. Augustine, the city is holding its “Ceremony of Remembrance.”
It will be at the St. Augustine Fire Department’s Main Station on Malaga Street starting at 8:30 a.m.
The city started the ceremony two days after the attacks 22 years ago and has held one every year since.
Naval Station Mayport is also holding a 9/11 ceremony on base. Sailors and firefighters will participate starting at 8 a.m.
Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks, survived the attack at The Pentagon.
She says ceremonies like the ones planned are important. She hopes people are taught about what happened and never forget.
“As someone who remembers vividly the course of my own steps right here at the Pentagon that day, I can tell you, sharing these reflections remains hard yet as the years since September 11th have increased,” Hicks said.
“So, too, does the importance of telling our stories? Because even as many of us have personal memories of what happened that day, an increasing share of Americans don’t, they were too young, or they hadn’t even been born yet.”
Last week, two more victims who were killed in the World Trade Center attacks were just identified.
Their remains were identified in New York City by DNA.