Geary Firefighters, Residents Commemorate 9/11 with Memorial Walk

GEARY – Geary firefighters and other residents commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks this past Saturday morning by walking 2.5 miles around the city.

Wearing full gear that weighed more than 45 pounds, the firefighters walked in memory of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives while responding to the World Trade Center in New York City. Nearly 3,000 total Americans died that day.

Geary Fire Chief Jeff Choate had been a firefighter for just over two years when the attacks happened, he said. “I was like all Americans,” he told The Geary Star, “and wondered how this could happen on American soil. I watched like everyone and thought of the first responders that answered that call, the people in the planes and in the buildings, and their families. American people going to work with no idea what was going to happen.

“My heart still goes out to all,” Choate said, “and may not only the 343 never be forgotten, but all that lost their lives on that day.”

He thanked Pafford EMS, Jay Clark, Terry Holman and everyone who participated in the walk. Pafford supplied water for the participants during the increasingly warm day.