MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – It was a four-mile walk from Charleston, over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, and into Mount Pleasant, and every step of the way was in remembrance of the lives lost on September 11, 2001.
Firefighters, police officers, first responders, and many others from across the state participated in a 9/11 Silent Walk on the bridge Wednesday morning culminating in a special ceremony at Patriots Point.
“It means a lot,” said Tyler Carson, a firefighter from Easley who participated in the walk. “I know their families are still suffering, so whatever we can do to keep their name alive.”
“The sacrifices that those brave men made, just what was going through their minds,” said Easley firefighter Wade Brooks, reflecting on the day.
The silent walk, founded by five Charleston-area firefighters, honors the 343 New York firefighters and the nearly 3,000 victims who died during the terror attack on the World Trade Center.
“As the years have gone by, I think people have forgotten, especially our younger generation. It’s important that they see why we continue to walk, and why we continue to remember the sacrifice that was made that day,” said former Mount Pleasant Police Chief Carl Ritchie.