Thousands gather at Sun Bowl Stadium for 25th Anniversary 9/11 memorial stair climb
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Today marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The University of Texas at El Paso Army ROTC Fighting Miner Battalion honored the tragic day with a memorial stair climb at Sun Bowl Stadium, joining forces with the El Paso Fire Department and local community members.
The memorial opened with the National Anthem and featured speaker Heather A. Wilson, former United States Secretary of the Air Force and former UTEP President. A helicopter flyover above the stadium followed the opening ceremony.
The stadium bleachers were lined with symbolic displays honoring the fallen: firefighter boots, black boots for police officers, and brown boots for military service members, along with roses representing every life lost that day.
Participants gathered early in the morning for check-in and a solemn vigil before beginning the climb of 110 flights of stairs matching the height of the World Trade Center towers.
Heather Wilson reflected on her experience during the attacks 25 years ago while working from her Congressional office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. She recalled that her first notice came when a young intern gently knocked on her door to share news of a plane crashing in New York.
"All of us gathered. I thought it was a terrible accident," Wilson said. "And then at 9:03 a.m. East Coast time, when the second plane hit, we all knew this was no accident."
"About half an hour later, someone said there was smoke rising over the Pentagon," she remembered. "It wasn't just New York. The next few days were a clinic in America on how to meet tragedy with strength."
More than 3,000 people turned out for today's memorial.
El Paso Fire Chief Jonathan Killings remembered watching the events unfold on television as a young firefighter 25 years ago.
"Being a firefighter just brought everything home," Killings said. "You start thinking immediately about the men and women who were out there that day responding, knowing that the outcome probably wasn't going to go well but still continuing to do their job. It was an emotional day then, and it continues to be emotional every time you stop and remember."
As participants pushed through sweat and exhaustion at Sun Bowl Stadium, the focus remained squarely on the heroes of 9/11. Active-duty Army soldier Douglas Long was the first to complete the grueling 110 flights of stairs, though he was quick to deflect the achievement to the firefighters climbing alongside him.
"Anytime you just feel you, you start to feel sorry for yourself, you just think like, man, it's like a blessing to be here, to be able to do it, you know?" Said Long.
"This morning I was thinking every time I passed firefighters I was like, you're doing more than me right now. Like, that's, I'm just I'm here on easy mode, and I just happened to be the first one done that. Those guys are the ones that are out here like, like really doing this for their fallen Conrad."
For Long and the thousands of others gathered at the Sun Bowl, the climb served as a powerful physical reminder of endurance, service, and sacrifice.
