Twenty-five years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the lessons carried forward remain rooted in family, coworkers and a community united in the face of tragedy.
Cortez Davis and Lucas Rundle, firefighters for the city of Cedar Rapids, both said that family became a core value in their lives since 9/11.
Rundle graduated from Kirkwood Community College’s fire science program in 2019 and became a firefighter in 2020, while Davis started in 2012, fulfilling a childhood dream.
Davis said he was a sophomore in high school when the attacks happened, and he recalled sitting in social studies watching the news as the towers were hit.
Rundle said he was only four years old at the time but can remember watching documentaries and learning about 9/11 in school.
Both men stressed the importance of family and unity post-9/11.
“The family aspect of it, you know, people are taking care of each other,” said Rundle. “They made the ultimate sacrifice, but then even years later there’s still coworkers taking care of their families after the fact.
Rundle explained how 9/11 changed his profession. He said firefighters now do more high-rise training, fire behavior training, more mental health support and cancer research.
Those themes of unity and sacrifice were also central to Cedar Rapids’ annual 7 Climbs memorial event.
The 7 Climbs event at Mount Trashmore is held every year on the anniversary of 9/11. Participants climb the hill seven times to represent the flights of stairs and floors climbed by first responders at the Twin Towers. John Conyn, adjunct instructor at Kirkwood, started the event.
“Let us never forget. We are moving forward based on walking on the shoulders of men, women and children that have passed. Our greatest honor to them is to move forward and protect others,” said Conyn.
Melanie Harms, 1988 Kirkwood graduate, and Tricia Jeffery, 1989 Kirkwood graduate, participated in the 7 Climbs event.
“It’s a nice way to remember 9/11 and honor the people who lost their lives,” said Harms.
“I just want to remember all the people who didn’t get to celebrate many anniversaries with their spouses,” said Jeffrey, “didn’t get to know their small children, and just as a small way to give back to all the service people, firemen, police, military, who do so much for our freedom.”
Over the past 25 years, fire science and the firefighting profession have changed immeasurably. Chad Little, Kirkwood fire science program coordinator and lead instructor, discussed how important his students and job are to him.
“I want to make sure that when these students go in — when they look at the dangers — they know what they’re really getting into and the risks involved,” Little said.
Little said he was living in Seattle on Sept. 11, 2001, and was awoken by a call from his mother telling him to turn on the TV. It was not until later that he discovered a personal connection to the tragedy.
Little’s childhood friend Craig Amundson was serving in the Army and worked in the Pentagon when the building was struck by American Airlines Flight 77.
There was one common factor emphasized in every interview: unity. This anniversary was about people coming together during a time when nothing made sense, taking care of one another, remembering those who came before us and recognizing what we learned as we moved into our respective futures.
Categories: News
