Community Turns Out to Honor 9/11 Responders

Eastern Washington University's 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, an event to honor first responders lost during the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, returned to the Eastern campus this year thanks to an inspired student and cross-campus collaboration.

The climb, which originated in Dressler Hall and was halted due to COVID-19 restrictions, was relocated to Roos Field this year - thanks, in large part, to the leadership of student-turned-alumna, Denise Quiroga.

Quiroga, who graduated in June with a bachelor's degree in biology, pre-dentistry, spearheaded the effort remotely in partnership with fellow members of Eastern's Easy Come Easy Grow garden club, and other members of the EWU community.

At the event, which involved nearly 100 attendees and participants, Mark Etse, director of EWU's new Office of Community Engagement, gave Quiroga a shout-out for her outstanding work.

"She pulled in all these different campus departments, such as facilities, the police department, the veterans resource center, sustainability, community engagement, our office, to try to make this happen and get all the moving parts in place," Etse said. "It's a really cool collaborative effort and we're just one small piece of it."

Roos Field proved to be an ideal fit for the event in part thanks to mild temperatures and minimal smoke in the air. Of the people who turned out, more than 50 participated in the event's stair climbs and walks, both intended to honor the New York City firefighters and police officers who climbed 110 flights of steps and trudged through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to rescue New York city victims that day.

Among those lost in the line duty were 343 fire fighters and 71 law enforcement officers. Another 55 military personnel were lost to the simultaneous attack on the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. In the years to come, the death toll for civilians and first responders rose to nearly 3,000 people as health conditions caused by ash and toxins from the events claimed more lives.

Nathan Henson, captain at the City of Cheney Fire Department, turned out to Roos with several colleagues after a member of the garden club notified the department.

"We're pretty excited to see this happening again," said Henson.

Henson said firefighters and police rarely think of the dangers when serving their communities, but responding to those needs is a longstanding tradition.

"I think [the memorial event] a good reminder for why we do what we do," Henson said. "A lot of times you don't think about the loss side of things, you are just going and doing a job because you enjoy doing it and you enjoy serving your community - and that puts you in places that are sometimes dangerous."

Although Quiroga was just under 5 years old when 9/11 happened, and many other Garden Club members weren't yet born, she felt strongly about honoring the memory of those lost. Strongly enough to continue planning the event after moving across the county to Illinois after her husband, who serves in the U.S. Air Force, was transferred to Scott Air Force Base.

"Even though time went by - and some people hadn't been born yet - there are still a lot of people still affected by it. It's always nice to remember, because it brings the community together," Quiroga said.

Greg Karlis, a 10-year veteran of the EWU Police Department who started the memorial climb back in 2015, was pleased with the work that Quiroga and her team (which included Erin Endres, EWU's climate resilience specialist) did to finalize the event.

"I thought it's great that that a student felt so strongly and wanted to pick up the mantle," Karlis said. "So, I just helped her behind the scenes and got Roos Field in the works."

The turnout was also the best it has ever been, Karlis said. "It's something we care about and I was glad to see everyone come out and support us."

For EWU Police Chief Jewell Day, the success of the event was heartening. "It's an amazing turnout," he said. "It's the largest that we've had. Officer Karlis has spearheaded this for our department. He's done just a phenomenal job of bringing people together and making sure we honor the folks who lost their lives in 911. This so this is amazing to see."

Photography provided by Aaron Weer.