FDNY and other firefighters run cross-country [9-11 Tribute]

AP via Fresno Bee ^ | August 12, 2010 | Staff

[La Enchiladita]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Firefighters from two nations took off Thursday on a round-the-clock run from Southern California to New York in remembrance of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Tour of Duty run officially began with a flag ceremony at 8:46 a.m. - the time when the first plane struck New York's twin towers in 2001.

Several New York firefighters were running, including James Dowdell. His father, firefighter Kevin Dowdell, was among more than 400 emergency workers killed while responding to the attack.

Firefighters feel "a special kinship" with firefighters who died, North Las Vegas fire Capt. Cedric Williams said.

"We're trained to save people and potentially risk our lives for others. ... I think each one of us understands those risks," he said. "We probably wouldn't have done anything different than they did."

[La Enchiladita]

Beginning at the Santa Monica Pier, teams running in shifts will head east on a 4,600-mile trek that will take them to Las Vegas, Arizona, Albuquerque, Oklahoma, Houston, New Orleans, Mississippi, Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, Washington D.C., Baltimore and Pennsylvania before finishing at the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I remember the FDNY bike ride across country in ‘01. It came through Tijeras on Rt. 66.

[La Enchiladita]

I wish I had gotten up early enough to see them off this a.m. I remember some FDNY members came to Santa Monica a month or two after 9-11 to participate in a fund-raiser with the S.M. Fire Department. I have that t-shirt (depicting the firefighters raising the flag at Ground Zero) and always wear it on the anniversary.

[La Enchiladita]

I will bump this topic just to demonstrate how uninteresting the remembrance of the heroes of September 11, 2001 is to today’s “true conservative” Tea Party FReepers.

Thanks for proving that Tea Party has nothing to do with patriotism.