Step by step, Judson police officers, Converse firefighters, JROTC cadets and San Antonio Mayor, Al Suarez, climbed the bleachers at D.W. Rutledge Stadium Thursday morning, Sept. 11, 2025. The sounds of the firefighters shuffling in full gear and the quick tread of the JROTC cadets echoed through the empty stadium, a solemn reminder of the attacks on the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
“We are paying tribute and praying for the families of the fallen heroes of that day. 343 firefighters, 72 police officers, and several EMS workers, first responders, and the 2,977 souls lost that day,” shared Luis Valdez, Fire Chief for the City of Converse.
24 years ago, more than 3,000 people were killed in the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Five years ago, Converse City Hall and the fire station began a new tradition: scaling the stadium’s bleachers to match the 110 flights of stairs first responders climbed while working to save the lives of 17,000 people.
This year’s remembrance started with a posting of colors, the national anthem, an opening prayer and a moment of silence for the fallen. After a speech by Mayor Suarez, the firefighters and JROTC cadets strapped in their gear to begin their walk of salute to those who became victims of the September 11 attacks. Select cadets carried oxygen tanks on their trek to better understand the physical demands first responders faced that morning. At key moments of the tragedy, participants took a knee of reverence.
Raphael Mayweather, Deputy Fire Marshall, has a first hand account of September 11 as a first responder 10 blocks from the attack. His prior career in the U.S. Air Force as a combat medic resulted in his air expeditionary being activated at 11 p.m. that night to treat the wounded.
“We were there to accept patients, casualties and overflow from the nearby hospitals. We stayed there for a week. It was chaotic; nobody knew what was going on,” Mayweather said.
Valdez remembers September 11 with sorrow. He worked a 48-hour double shift as a firefighter, began making breakfast and turned on the news. He watched the first plane hit the North Tower live. He remembers one detail vividly.
“We could hear the PASS [Personal Alert Safety System] devices. It’s a high pitched, screeching whistle. When fire fighters are in trouble and stop moving, there’s a PASS device that sounds. As a fire fighter, I could hear the 343 PASS devices going off in the background simultaneously. The average person heard that sound and didn’t know what it was, maybe thought it was a fire alarm or something like that. But every firefighter in the world knew what that sound meant. They had perished,” Valdez recalled.
This event holds deep meaning to Valdez and others participating in the climb.
Daniel Cano, one of the Converse Fire Department captains, highlights, “It’s so humbling and inspiring to see individuals who are doing the same job I am, and who had to make a decision that I think a lot of them knew was going to be one of the last decisions they were going to make in their lives.
“It gives you an additional level of respect for the work that they did. It makes you really humble,” Cano expressed.
Mayor Suarez joined the march the first year it began. He completed his laps around the bleachers in full firefighter gear.
Sept. 11, 2001 was a catastrophic, dark day in United States history. The lives taken from the first responders and citizens that day will never be forgotten.
Cano emphasized, “It’s important today to take a moment, whether that’s a moment of silence, or what we’re doing: suffering a little for these individuals in remembrance for the suffering they endured.”