LEXINGTON, Va. – Virginia Military Institute’s firefighting club led the Corps of Cadets in the eighth annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Thursday.
Nearly 500 cadets climbed 110 floors, each carrying a rucksack weighing about 45 pounds with the name of a 9/11 victim.
Some cadets carried firefighting tools, rifles, and flags. Others took turns carrying a fragment of glass recovered from the rubble of the Twin Towers, as well as an American flag recovered from Ground Zero.
This stair climb event in Lexington replicates the challenge first responders faced on 9/11, climbing 2,071 steps in the World Trade Center.
Communities across the country incorporate similar events to honor the bravery and sacrifice of first responders on that day.