BUCHANAN, Va. – As day breaks on the 24th anniversary of 9/11, former first responder and founder of Buchanan non-profit Sirens & Salutes, Bill Price, spent the morning walking with members of the Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department. The walk encompassed the entire 102-minute timeline of the attacks—from the moment the North Tower was struck at 8:46, to the time it fell at 10:28.
For Price, the memory of 9/11 remains ever-present, even 24 years after the attacks.
“I was actually at a firefighting school learning how to put out fires on aircraft,” Price said. “They came out and told us that the towers had been hit and that we all needed to get inside as quickly as possible.”
Flanked by Buchanan firefighters, Price walks along Main Street every Patriot Day, playing radio traffic from New York City first responders that morning.
Price has a personal connection to September 11. His father and godfather were first responders in New York City that day.
“My first thing was to call my mom and see if my dad was in the city for anything that day, which thank God he wasn’t,” he said.
As the group continued their walk, they paused for a moment of silence for every event that morning, including both towers and the Pentagon being struck, Flight 93 crashing in Pennsylvania and both towers collapsing.
“I think it’s important for any kind of memorial that you can do or take the time during the day to stop and do something to remember those we lost on 9/11,” Price said.
Michael Morrow was captain of the Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department on 9/11. He said after the attacks, many at the station wanted to volunteer to go to New York City to help.
“Everyone wanted to take off to New York and help out,” Morrow said. “But we went around the firehouse and checked our equipment and just decided the best thing we can do is help our community.”
The station was put on a list with other departments around the country to be called up in case more volunteers were needed. While they were never called in to assist in New York, but they worked to organize blood drives and did all they could from back home.
With the 25th anniversary just a year away, Price says he plans to continue this walk as long as he is physically able to, all in the name of remembering those lost that day.