Guardsmen from Oregon and Arizona will participate in separate events this week to mark the 23rd anniversary since the attacks of Sept. 11.
The Oregon National Guard will head to Eugene on Sept. 11. There, guardsmen will climb the stairs at Autzen Stadium, where the University of Oregon football team plays, for the second annual “9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Autzen.” Other military- and first responder-connected community members will join as they aim to climb the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs — the height of the Twin Towers.
“It’s a great event to honor and remember those who were killed in the attack that day, and where all first responders, including military members, can honor their memory,” said Lt. Col. Stephen S. Bomar, director of public affairs at the Oregon Military Department. “It just started last year but has generated a great opportunity for the future.”
Each climber will be given a badge with the name and picture of a fallen first responder or military member. Another special moment takes place when participants reach the equivalent of the 78th floor of the World Trade Center — the highest floor firefighters reached on Sept. 11. When that happens, climbers will ring a fire bell in honor of the individuals on their badges.
Even the registration for the untimed event, open only to first responders and military personnel and their immediate family members, has a symbolic element. Registration opens at 8:46 a.m., the exact time that Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower. The opening ceremony starts one hour later, with the actual climb beginning at 10:30.
“Last year, it was just local Guard members participating in a voluntary status,” said Bomar. “We believe it will expand beyond the local Springfield and Corvallis units this year.”
More than 1,100 miles to the southeast, guardsmen from the Grand Canyon State will also be holding a 9/11 remembrance event for the second year. The Arizona Army National Guard 9-11 Remembrance Biathlon will start at the Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery at Camp Navajo in Bellemont.
Guardsmen in either two-person teams or individuals will compete in both a 10k run interspersed with a 193-target shooting competition using three firearms. At the biathlon’s finish, competitors must recite five words given to them at the start line. Missed targets count as time penalties. The top three individuals and teams with the fastest calculated time after assessed penalties will go on to compete in the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship in Arkansas in April of 2025.
“Many of our new soldiers were born after 9/11 and only know the event from history class,” said Arizona Army National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Walter Wayts. “The purpose of this event is to tie the impacts of 9/11 with a fun and challenging training event.”
That’s precisely why they chose a biathlon instead of merely a run, Wayts said: they wanted to make their 9/11 commemoration unique.
“Adding a shooting element to the 10K distance makes the 9/11 Remembrance Biathlon stand out from other remembrance events,” he said. “The rigorous nature of the biathlon can serve as a tribute to the discipline, bravery and determination of the civilians, first responders and military personnel that gave everything that day and the wars that followed.”
Wayts expects at least 50 soldiers to compete in this year’s event, which has no age, gender or rank categories. With the San Francisco peaks as a backdrop, the biathlon starts and ends at the cemetery, weaving through nearby ponderosa pine forests to three shooting ranges. Formal speakers beforehand will discuss the impact that Sept. 11 had on them, the Guard and the nation.
“The Arizona National Guard holding this event demonstrates an organization that is reflective and forward thinking. While we honor the lives lost that day and in the ensuing conflicts, we seek to teach our soldiers broader lessons like the importance of teamwork in crisis, the value of resiliency and the need for global partners in the security of our nation,” Wayts said. “This biathlon in remembrance of 9/11 creates a space for soldiers to unite and remember those that are lost, while also celebrating the strength of the human spirit.”
