<body><div>A flag once flown over Ground Zero of the attacks on the World Trading Center in New York City passed through the hands of fire chiefs and first responders Thursday before being carried into North Platte. About 50 first responders representing at least six departments participated in the North Platte Honor Walk in remembrance of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.Firefighters from North Platte, Maxwell, Hayes County, Hershey, Sutherland, and Brady were among those who walked about a mile from the downtown Pizza Ranch parking lot to North Platte Fire Station No. 1.Many walked in full bunker gear. Several carried American and fire-service flags. A North Platte police cruiser provided escort with emergency lights activated as people watched from the sidewalks.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0kqz7E_1F2rghkY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0kqz7E_1F2rghkY00" width="1000" height="514" ><figcaption>Walking on Jeffers St./U.S. Highway 83. Photos by Kristi Smith</figcaption></figure>At Fire Station No. 1, the first responders gathered near the flagpole, stood at attention and saluted as the Ground Zero flag was hoisted up the pole.The walk was held on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the attacks that claimed 2,977 lives in New York City, at the Pentagon and aboard United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the tallest buildings in the U.S., which fell within the hour. A third struck the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth crashed near Shanksville, Penn. after passengers and crew members attempted to regain control of the aircraft.As civilians tried to exit the burning World Trade Center, firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and other first responders moved in, entering buildings filled with fire, smoke, and debris. Responders climbed toward the damaged floors carrying equipment, directing evacuations, treating the injured and searching for people who were trapped.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1eRmyO_1F2rghkY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1eRmyO_1F2rghkY00" width="1000" height="510" ><figcaption>The walk begins downtown.</figcaption></figure>Some carried people who could no longer walk. Others remained with the injured or repeatedly returned to help the victims. Many continued climbing toward the impact zones without knowing whether they would be able to reach those trapped above or escape the buildings if they collapsed or the fires spread quickly.The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., approximately 56 minutes after it was struck. The North Tower fell at 10:28 a.m., 29 minutes later. Hundreds of first responders were still inside or near the towers when they collapsed.Among those killed were 343 members of the New York City fire department, 37 officers from the Port Authority police department, and 23 officers from the New York City police department. Emergency medical personnel and responders from other agencies also died.The sacrifice continued long after the towers fell. Responders searched the wreckage for survivors before the operation transitioned into a months-long recovery effort to locate and identify the remains of those who died.In the years that followed, many responders and survivors developed cancers, respiratory diseases and other serious conditions associated with exposure to the toxic dust and debris at Ground Zero.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1sYhp9_1F2rghkY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1sYhp9_1F2rghkY00" width="700" height="485" ><figcaption>Preparing to hoist the flag.</figcaption></figure>The flag that was carried Thursday in North Platte flew over Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center towers once stood, on July 8, 2026, according to North Platte firefighter and Wallace volunteer firefighter Brett Gartrell. Its history is documented with a certificate of authenticity.The flag’s journey began at the Wallace Fire Department and continued through Elsie, Paxton, Sutherland, and Hershey before reaching North Platte. Fire chiefs representing the five communities participated in the relay.Gartrell received the flag at the Pizza Ranch parking lot, where it was unfolded and placed on a portable flagpole for the final mile to the central fire station. Gartrell said the journey was intended to allow each participating first responder to have a hand in carrying it.The Honor Walk was not conducted by one particular department. Career and volunteer firefighters, chiefs and personnel from multiple agencies worked together to make it happen.Gartrell organized the walk but asked that the focus remain on Sept. 11 and the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice.“We wanted to do something in tribute to the first responders who died on 9/11,” Gartrell said. “I think it’s something we need to remember, honor and cherish.”Gartrell conducted a smaller walk in Wallace last year. This was a larger scale.Upon reaching the station, the flag was presented to the North Platte Professional Honor Guard, attached to the station’s flagpole and raised. It will fly at half staff above Station No. 1 throughout Sept. 11 in observance of the 25th anniversary.Although participation in the walk was primarily reserved for first responders, community members were invited to witness the procession from sidewalks.The walk honored all those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, with particular remembrance for the firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency medical personnel who answered the call while others were trying to escape. It also offered participants an opportunity to remember other members of the fire service they have lost.“I hope people take away the importance of coming together,” Gartrell said. “There is so much going on in the world right now, politics, arguments, and all the other junk and garbage that can divide people. I want people to be able to put all of that aside for a little while and remember — remember the bad that happened that day. Remember the people who went to work and never came home. Remember the sacrifices that were made.”“For the younger generation that doesn’t remember September 11 or wasn’t even alive when it happened, I want our history to stay our history,” he said. “I want it respected and remembered. These are things we cannot allow ourselves to forget.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4SRDJl_1F2rghkY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4SRDJl_1F2rghkY00" width="1000" height="354" ><figcaption>Saluting the flag as it is raised.</figcaption></figure>© 2026 The North Platte Bulletin. All rights reserved!</div></body>

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A flag once flown over Ground Zero of the attacks on the World Trading Center in New York City passed through the hands of fire chiefs and first responders Thursday before being carried into North Platte. About 50 first responders representing at least six departments participated in the North Platte...

Walk honors 9-11 firefighters, first responders

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A flag once flown over Ground Zero of the attacks on the World Trading Center in New York City passed through the hands of fire chiefs and first responders

Walk honors 9-11 firefighters, first responders

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