How to honor firefighters' World Trade Center bravery

Tragically, absolutely nothing those hundreds of brave New York City firefighters could've possibly done on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, after the two hijacked passenger jets came out of nowhere to crash into the upper floors of the World Trade Center buildings would've prevented the inevitable collapse and brutal killing of nearly 3,000 ordinary human beings. Each plane's incalculable impact force alone even caused each towering building to momentarily sway. Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, will mark the 25th anniversary of a purely evil attack on people simply going about their morning tasks when the jets struck, causing raging fires to erupt on several floors. Remembering back through our nation's history, perhaps the only other event of a similar magnitude that might rival the 9/11 attacks for so much overwhelming shock effect may be the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The firefighters had no chance of successfully extinguishing those fires fast enough to prevent the tremendous heat from rising and softening the massive vertical structural steel columns and horizontal girders. That enormous mass of weight higher up above the impact zones was constantly exerting downward forces onto the ever-weakening steel support structure, another insurmountable hazard to overcome. More: Opinion: How the Statue of Liberty revived my confidence after I survived the 9/11 attacks It was only a matter of time, and not very much, until the two 110-story buildings began to collapse. Once the doomed buildings started collapsing, that searing image was gone in a mere 30 fleeting seconds, killing 343 New York City firefighters and over 2,900 hapless victims overall. I still vividly recall exactly what I was doing early that dreadful morning when I glanced at my TV set as I walked across our living room. Fate dictated that I missed the video shown minutes earlier of the jets crashing into the buildings. Why were those 110-story buildings burning at elevations so high above the streets? I thought. I was bewildered. I reflect often on one story of heroism from that unforgettable morning. It's about one New York City firefighter's individual dedication and resolve. His name was Orio Palmer. Palmer may have been the very first firefighter to arrive at the North Tower. Palmer sprinted inside only to realize that none of the building's elevators were operable. So, Palmer located a stairwell and began running up as many panicked people began rushing down to flee the building. While carrying a radio, Palmer actually reached the 78th-floor impact zone, near where the jet crashed through the exterior wall. Palmer began directing the firefighting units arriving on the streets far below up to the floors where they started battling the widespread fires. Palmer remained there as he directed the growing numbers of firefighters. To commemorate this tragedy in perpetuity, I've often visualized having an architectural engineering firm that specializes in ornamental steel design, fabrication and welding build a high-quality stainless-steel structure that replicates possibly five floors of a high-rise office building stairway, with the idea of mirroring five floors of stairwells in the World Trade Center towers. Situated on the stairs would be statues resembling firefighters, with even some real FDNY names visible on their backs, lugging 70 pounds of gear while laboring up through the endless stairs in a herculean effort to extinguish the raging fires, and helping to save as many of the building's occupants as possible. I believe so many of those brave New York firefighters suspected, even before they started climbing those stairs, that they were never going to live to see the end of the day, nor ever again their proud yet heartbroken families. The 50-foot-tall free-standing 9/11 stairwell replication project could partner with a charitable organization for fundraising. A plaque could include the names of the 343 firefighters, and this caption: 'Climbing the Stairway to Heaven.' In part, it originates from the British rock group Led Zeppelin iconic 'Stairway to Heaven.' While listening to it, I've often pictured in my mind what those firefighters endured. A quarter-century after this unforgettable day, I hope this memorial idea can become a reality. Loren Flaugh lives in Primghar. A version of this essay appeared earlier in the Spencer Daily Reporter.