New Mexico remembers 9/11

At 8:46 a.m. on the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 terrorism attacks — the time marking the moment when hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the World Trade Center’s north tower — dozens of New Mexico firefighters walked between rows of folded uniforms to summit the Washington Federal Building — the taller of the pair that defines Albuquerque’s skyline. 

Harkening to the tradition started by Albuquerque Fire Department Lieutenant Charles Cogburn in 2003, firefighters donned full gear and climbed the 22-story building five times, to represent 110 floors — the height of the former World Trade Center’s towers. The climb honors the 343 firefighters and 78 other first responders that died following the building’s collapse. 

Brannon Porch, a retired firefighter and U.S. Navy Veteran who marched in the honor guard, described the sinking feeling he had sitting in his truck on the westside, grabbing breakfast from the New York Bagels shop and describing rushing to the fire station and watching when the towers fell. 

“I had two realizations at that moment: all I thought was “Dear God,” and the second, was that we would go to war,” he said. “Twenty-five years later, I still have a lot of emotions about it, so this event pays homage not just to the firefighters but the civilians that lost their lives that day — and paying respect to them is one of the greatest honors of the job.” 

Members of the Santa Fe Fire Department also gathered Friday morning, this time outside City Hall. In two groups, also starting at 8:46 a.m., they took turns climbing five wooden steps while wearing full gear and climbed until they reached a total of 2,200 steps.

“Our nation was forever changed by the acts of imaginable violence that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent people,” Santa Fe Mayor Michael Garcia said during the remembrance ceremony. “Twenty-five years later, we continue to remember those who were lost, honor the families and survivors whose lives were forever changed and pay tribute to all those who answered the call to serve and protect.” 

In Las Cruces, students at Mayfield High School gathered outside the school Friday morning , where members of the school’s Air Force Junior ROTC led the 25th anniversary remembrance Friday before class with a presentation of the flags. The Las Cruces Police Department joined the ceremony to present the colors to the students who raised the flags to half mast. Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Directors also joined the annual ceremony.

“While many of us here today were not alive to witness the tragedies that took place 25 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001, we take this day every year to honor the 2,996 people who lost their lives that day,” a JROTC cadet said during the ceremony.