First responders from North Mississippi honor those who gave their life on 9/11

A bagpiper leads the way as participants, many wearing their full protective gear proceed to the stairs and a climb covering the same distance as the 110 floors New York 1st responders had to ascend on that fateful day.

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – A bagpiper leads the way as participants, many wearing their full protective gear proceed to the stairs and a climb covering the same distance as the 110 floors New York 1st responders had to ascend on that fateful day.

Tupelo Fire Chief Brad Robinson has taken part in this event since its inception. But 2023 is special because it is his first 9-11 stair climb as Fire Chief.

“Being Chief today is my first experience as Chief of the Tupelo Fire Department in this role,” Robinson said. “9/11, it rings loud and true to me and all the other fellow firefighters here, the families of the fallen, and everybody. I mean that’s how you have a connection with this.

Melinda Monts is President of the Ladies Auxiliary which sponsors the event every year. She says we must never forget that day.

“The slogan that most everybody uses regarding it is so we never forget,” Monts said. “And that’s the whole purpose of our event today is that we never forget what happened on 9/11 and all the first responders who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

This is the seventh year this event has been held at the Cadence Bank Arena in Tupelo. It is not only a time to remember what happened on that day 22 years ago, but it is also a time to come together with fellow 1st responders throughout northeast Mississippi.

Tupelo Mayor Todd Jordan took part in the climb.

“I think we all know where we were at the time when the first plane hit the towers,” Jordan said. “And you know it’s bittersweet because we remember for bad and good reasons. I mean the bad is because America was attacked. The good is because it brings us together every year on this date and I couldn’t be more proud of the way the city of Tupelo turned out.”

One of those who turned out was Chambliss Howell who has been with the Tupelo Fire Department for just two months. She was a junior in high school on 9-11.

“I have done the stair climb as a volunteer so this is my first year to do it as a full-time firefighter with Tupelo,” Howell said. “It was hot. It was heavy. But it was nothing compared to what the firefighters endured September 11, 2001.”

And other fire departments in north Mississippi were well represented on this day. This is the fourth year Justin Martin has made the trip from Columbus.

“I come up here because it’s about the men, the 343 men who made the ultimate sacrifice,” Martin said. “They were shift and they went up there bravely and didn’t know if they were coming home and they didn’t make it home. And so I do it for their families and my family.”

David Johnson serves on the Amory Fire Department. His community is dealing with the aftermath of a devastating tornado.

“We see the ongoing cleanup going on in our town, the rebuilding just as they did in New York the months after,” Johnson said. “And we’re still seeing that. And we hope to just like New York did, we hope to come back bigger, better, and stronger. ”

When each participant finished, they rang the bell and gave tribute to the fallen heroes of 9-11.

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