Fire dept. plans ‘Never Forget’ Walk

By Melinda L. Lucas

Members of the Albany Volunteer Fire Department will host and participate in the third annual “Never Forget” Memorial Walk next Monday morning, Sept. 11 on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001.

The event will again be held at the Shackelford County Courthouse, beginning at exactly 8:46 a.m., which is the time that the first hijacked aircraft struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

According to Albany VFD chief Joel Viertel, anyone who would like to walk on Monday morning is welcome to join the fire department members.

“If you can’t walk the whole way, or even if you just want to sit and observe in silence, that’s okay,” Viertel said. “We just want to make sure that this tragedy and the heroes who gave their lives are not forgotten.”

The chief added that AVFD lieutenant Casey Kimbrough is organizing the local event again this year.

Participants will walk the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs, the number of stories in the World Trade Center. That is 2,200 steps, Viertel said.

“If you can walk it all, that’s great, but we want you to participate any way you can,” Viertel said. “If you want to come and sit in your car the whole time, we will appreciate your presence and the fact that you are willing to spend the time to pay tribute.”

Among the almost 3,000 who died in 2001 were 343 New York firefighters and paramedics who rushed into the towers to try to save those caught in the inferno. Also killed were 23 NY police officers and 37 officers in the NY Port Authority.

A second hijacked plane crashed into the South Tower 17 minutes after the first attack, and a third aircraft struck the Pentagon at Washington D.C. about 30 minutes later.

The fourth plane crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside after its passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers after learning of the other attacks by cell phone.