Natick Remembers 9-11 With Special Ceremony, Stair Climb Challenge

NATICK, MA—We all remember where we were when 15 years ago, we heard that terrorist had hijacked planes to bomb our buildings and kill our citizens.

Each community remembered, and honored those lost in the tragedy, in its own way over the weekend.

In Natick, the Natick Soldier Systems Center workforce gathered Friday to remember the nearly 3,000 Americans who died and the courageous actions of first responders on 9/11.

In an announcement,NSSC said that at 8:46 a.m. they observed a moment of silence before a bell tolled 11 times.

"This is a day that we pause and mourn those we lost in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in the fields of Shanksville, Pennsylvania," said Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Todd III, NSSC senior commander in a statement."We also take time to reflect on the strength that was shown that September day."

Todd focused on one hero named Welles Crowther, an equities trader and former volunteer firefighter, who helped direct survivors down the stairs and even carried an injured woman down 15 floors. Crowther, 24, went back inside to help. His body was found later on the stairwell. In the announcement, NSSC said that Todd also talked of Spc. Beau Doboszenski, a trained EMT, who spent hours treating co-workers and running into the inferno with five others. He also referenced those who rushed the cockpit of Flight 93.

Natick police and firefighters were thanked, and Natick Police Chief James Hicks read the Patriot Day Proclamation, and the Natick High School Choir performed.

Also, on Sept. 9, more than 100 from the Natick Soldier Systems Center workforce and local first responders participated in the first-ever stair-climb challenge to symbolize the sacrifices that our first responders make on a daily basis.

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Photo via Natick Soldier Systems Center/U.S. Army