MISSOULA — The University of Montana dressed in red, white and blue Friday for a day of patriotism and community as Missoulians honored the lives lost on September 11, 2001 with a memorial event and a hike up the "M" trail.
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"It was a horrendous attack against our country and everybody in it," John Squires, a hiker, said. Squires told MTN he was struck by "the courage that average ordinary people expressed in dealing with the tragedy at the time."
The Missoula Fire Department, the Missoula Police Department, and others were at UM to remember the unity that followed the attacks where nearly 3,000 lives were lost.
"The entire world came out to support the United States at that time and let us not forget that," Mayor Davis said.
Twenty-five years later, the people who were alive at the time recall the exact moment they heard the news.
“I had a friend tell me something to the effect that we were under attack and that just didn't quite sink in until I was able to get in front of a TV a few minutes later and just like everybody else was glued to the TV," Erin Wilmarth-Klare, the chair of the 9/11 Memorial Event and Remembrance Hike Planning Committee, said.
Others climbing the "M" also remembered witnessing history live on television.
"They had the news on and we just stopped and just started listening and trying to get our head around what was happening to the country watching the towers and then realizing that the world will never be the same," John Squires said.
John Carey, a fire captain visiting the area from Little Rock, Arkansas, climbed for two individuals specifically.
"This is John Marshall from Engine 23 and Angel Juarbe, Jr. from Ladder 12," he said. "And they died on 9/11."
For Squires, the hike was about honoring those who passed.
“The first responders and the police officers who went in willingly and were killed in the line of duty, you have to remember them," he said.
The hikers read signs along the trail that included stories of the lives directly impacted on 9/11.
"I stopped for a breather and definitely read the signs, and I think they're beautifully done. They're just wonderful. I really appreciate that," Karen Shreve, another hiker, said.
Friday's ceremony and climb helped pass 9/11 memories along to a younger generation who was not alive to witness the tragedy.
"I think it's important to do something hard because they did something harder and so then we can honor them," Bridger Wilmarth-Klare, Erin's son, said.
Erin Wilmarth-Klare pulled her sons out of school for Friday's ceremony.
"I think it's important to just pass on those memories and honor those who lost their lives and those that made a final sacrifice of service and just show respect and make that promise that we will never forget and pass it on to the next generation," she added.
