St. Cloud State University ROTC Stair Climb Honors 9/11 Heroes

It was 23 years ago that hijackers took over four passenger jetliners, crashing them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon near Washington DC and in a field in Shanksville, Pennsvylvania.

The impact of that day -- September 11, 2001 -- shaped the last quarter century in America.

Flash forward to 2024.

ROTC students at St. Cloud State University -- who likely weren't even alive in 2001 -- will remember the heroes of the Twin Towers, the first responders who ran into the burning buildings and climbed the staircases carrying hoses and equipment in hopes of rescuing people from the burning towers.

343 fire fighters and paramedic lost their lives in the collapses of the towers. About the same number have died in the time since of 9/11-related illnesses.

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The ROTC Fighting Saints Battalion will host a "9/11 Memorial Stair Climb" to honor first responders who lost their lives that day.

And you can join them.

You can climb the full 2,071 stairs -- the same number of steps climbed by first responders that fateful day. Or you can complete any portion of that climb. By yourself or as a group.

Just go to Husky Stadium's front gate on Wednesday, September 11th for the 4:30 pm event. You can check-in there. And after some brief opening remarks, you can climb the stadium steps in remembrance of those who bravely died trying to help others.

See 20 Ways America Has Changed Since 9/11

For those of us who lived through 9/11, the day’s events will forever be emblazoned on our consciousnesses, a terrible tragedy we can’t, and won’t, forget. Now, two decades on, Stacker reflects back on the events of 9/11 and many of the ways the world has changed since then. Using information from news reports, government sources, and research centers, this is a list of 20 aspects of American life that were forever altered by the events of that day. From language to air travel to our handling of immigration and foreign policy, read on to see just how much life in the United States was affected by 9/11.

Gallery Credit: Madison Troyer