BYU athletics hosted a tower climb at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Sept. 11 to honor the lives of those lost in the 9/11 attacks 23 years ago.
Participants of the event climbed 2,071 steps throughout the stadium which represented the 110 stories of the World Trade Center towers. This act paid tribute to the first responders who not only climbed those steps, but also sacrificed their lives to save others.
Photographs of many of the fallen heroes were displayed on the stadium’s video board. The participants of the climb were encouraged to pause and pay respects in order to read the names of those individuals.
Sarah Mcsweeny, a current member of the 211th Aviation Battalion, said the tower climb was very meaningful.
“It's just another way for us to give back to those who perished and those who gave their life at that time,” Mcsweeny said.
Mcsweeny was a college freshman during the attacks of 9/11 and said those events helped motivate her to serve her country.
“I was actually in the ROTC program at UVU,” Mcsweeny said. “I wasn't able to finish at the time. And then now, years later, I'm able to serve.”
Provo Fire Chief Jeremy Headman spoke to the crowd about the unity Americans felt after 9/11.
“As I watched it all unfold in the days after September 11th, I remember having a sense of pride,” Headman said. “I listened to our nation as we came together in an effort to support each other and take care of one another.”
Event-goers were each given a picture of a first responder who lost their life during 9/11. They clipped the picture to their clothing and carried those pictures throughout the duration of the climb.
Clayton Pace, a student at BYU, said carrying pictures of the first responders was a powerful reminder to him.
“Never have I ever done anything like this that represents someone else,” Pace said. “That gave me a lot of respect for the people that I never met.”
Pace said that despite the solemn nature of the event, he left very grateful.
“I'm going to walk away with a lot more remembrance of those people,” Pace said. “I have greater memory of them and greater respect for our police officers and firefighters locally.”
