We will never forget

 

We will never forget                                                                               September 11th 2020

 

Edmonds Washington Fallen Firefighter Memorial 


         

On Friday September 11th I took the day off and visited the Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Edmonds Washington to remember the first responders. I found flowers and a note “We will never forget” on a steel girder recovered from the World Trade Center. Surrounding the memorial are four panels with the names of 343 first responders A Chaplain, Firefighters, EMTs, Chiefs, Captains and Police Officers all answered the call that day in 2001. I noticed many responders were in their 30’s and chose one name from the list. William J Mahoney was 37 a father of four, 15-year veteran of FDNY and a scuba diver who worked on the crash of TWA flight 800 8 miles off the coast of Long Island in 1996. I share a first name with William and was the same age in 2001 when I watched live TV coverage of the towers billowing black smoke on a perfect sunny morning. After spending time at the Memorial, I thought if William had a day off he may have visited a pub so I found the closest microbrewery and ordered a pint of Drop Anchor IPA.

Sitting out in the street at a table for one due to COVID restrictions and surrounded with wildfire smoke filling the skies I read many comments on Williams’s fallen firefighter page.  Close friends recounted really good times and strangers like me who found his name and dedicated many annual 9/11 memorial stair climbs to William. 

Later that day I traveled down to Seattle where we train for our tower climbs, with all first responders from NYFD and West Coast firefighters battling millions of acres of Wildfires in mind I ascended Howe Street’s 427 stairs several times. This was against better judgement and all news outlets warning people to remain inside I climbed anyway because “We will never forget”.



                                                Seattle Washington Friday September 11th 2020


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