Dozens of Soldiers, veterans, civilian workforce members, family members, Wisconsin Challenge Academy cadets, and others lined up in the dark, foggy, early morning hours Sept. 11 to pay honor to the victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the United States as they participated in the 2025 Fort McCoy 9/11 Memorial Run and Stair Climb.

The 2.975-mile run/1.34-mile walk started and ended in the parking lot of one of the new four-story barracks at Fort McCoy - the tallest buildings on post. The stair climb, which also was meant to resemble the firefighters climbing the stairs of the World Trade Center, also took place inside the barracks building. Nearly every participant also did the stair climb.

Fort McCoy's Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR) led the coordination efforts once again. In the early morning darkness, DFMWR Director Scott Abell welcomed the many participants, especially the Fort McCoy Fire Department participants.

"Thank you for the Fort McCoy Fire Department's presence here today," Abell said. He also passed the microphone to a Fort McCoy Soldier who gave the invocation to begin the event.

"I invite you to join me with a prayer," the Soldier said. "Lord, Heavenly Father, we thank you for today. This opportunity to come together in fellowship and have an opportunity just to remember the sacrifice that was made many years ago. We ask you to guide our hearts, guide our minds, and guide our conversations to allow our actions and our memories to reflect those (who) were lost, those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, and the memories and the moments that will never be back. Spend time with the families today to give them strength, give them hope, give them encouragement. Lead our hearts to you. We ask all these things in your name, we pray."

After the invocation, Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Sheyla Baez-Ramirez also gave opening comments about remembering what happened 24 years ago.

"Today is the 24th anniversary for an act that changed our nation forever," Baez said. "And the main reason why we are here is because we are not forgetting the people who lost their lives. They're not forgotten. We are honoring their life. We are honoring their family. And three points that I'd like to make this morning is, as a nation, we don't have to wait for the worst moment to come united and be better to each other. That is part of who we are as Americans. That is part of the values that we have. And we don't have to wait for another 9-11 to come together.

"Help each other," Baez said. "Help your neighbors. Take care of your bodies.

"The second thing that I'd like to say this morning is, like anything in the Army, we have values," she said. "And the values that we share in the Army is something that we are to use every day of our lives. Having courage, leading people, having people next to you is very, very important. And if you don't believe in religion, if you don't believe that there's a higher power here, use the Army values as your mantra to do better in life.

"Last but not least, to all the family members, maybe a lot of the people who are here were not even born or were just very small when 9-11 happened. But for all of us who are a little older, this is a time in our life that changed the way we do everything. That it changed the way we manage our installations. It changed the way we fly. It changed the way we view certain people," Baez said.

"The main thing here is today is a day to remember and to honor the families and all of the people who lost their lives. To remember and to thank you, all of our first responders who put their lives in the line every time that they go out and respond to an emergency. Thank you for being here today. Thank you for helping honoring the people who deserve the best honor in the world," the garrison commander said.

On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States, history shows. Two of the planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon, and a fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Penn. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

Adding to the patriotic feel of the event was the presences of firefighters and police officers from the Fort McCoy Directorate of Emergency Services (DES). During the run, no winners were declared but everyone finished. Same with the walk. It was all about doing it to honor the memory of the fallen 9/11 victims and safe to say it went well.

As the sun got higher in the sky, many lingered after the event to likely reflect and remember. Up the street, not long after the event, the U.S. flag stood at half-staff in honor of the day as well on the garrison flagpole in front of Fort McCoy Garrison Headquarters.

Every Patriot Day, by direction of the president of the United States, the flag of the United States of America is displayed at half-staff at the White House and all United States government buildings across the world. The flag was also set at half-staff at Veterans Memorial Plaza at Fort McCoy's Commemorative Area.

Additionally, a moment of silence is observed to correspond with the attacks, beginning at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Patriot Day is not a federal holiday; schools and businesses remain open in observance of the occasion, although memorial ceremonies for the victims are often held all across the United States.

Fort McCoy's motto is to be the "Total Force Training Center."

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching "ftmccoy," on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching "usagmccoy."

Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set "Fort McCoy" or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army's Installation Management Command where "We Are The Army's Home."

Source: U.S.Army