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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Retired Navy SEAL Mike White displays the photo of a man he knew personally who died in the 9/11 terrorist attack at the Hoover Patriot Day Remembrance Ceremony at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Firefighters, some in full gear, climb the stairs at The Offices at 300 Riverchase officer tower in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, as they participated in a stair climb to remember first responders who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, a retired Hoover firefighter, wears his formal firefighte attire during the Hoover Patriot Day Remembrance Ceremony at the Riverchase Galleria on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Firefighters head back to the stairwell at The Offices at 3000 Riverchase officer tower in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, as they participated in a stair climb to remember first responders who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Bagpiper Ryan Morrision plays "Amazing Grace" during the Hoover Patriot Day Remembrance Ceremony at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
A bell ceremony commemorated the lives lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks during the Hoover Patriot Day Remembrance Ceremony at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Some participants in the Hoover Patriot Day memorial stair climb wore full firefighting gear at The Offices at 3000 Riverchase officer tower in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Firefighters, some in full gear, climb the stairs at The Offices at 300 Riverchase officer tower in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, as they participated in a stair climb to remember first responders who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Retired Navy SEAL Mike White climbs the stairs at The Offices at 3000 Riverchase officer tower in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, as he participates in a stair climb to remember first responders who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Christian Nadalin, his wife Caroline and 3-year-old daughter participated in the Hoover Patriot Day Stair Climb at The Offices at 3000 Riverchase officer tower in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. Christian wore borrowed firefighter gear, and Caroline carried their daughter.
About 200 people turned out for Hoover’s annual Patriot Day Remembrance Ceremony on Saturday at the Riverchase Galleria, acknowledging the sacrifices of first responders who lost their lives in the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said it is only fitting that the city annually pays tribute to those who lost their lives trying to save others during that terrorist attack.
“That day, I think the whole world saw what it meant to be a firefighter or a police officer,” said Brocato, a 42-year veteran firefighter. “I truly believe that most of those men and women who went into that building felt there was a really good chance that they may not come out. I really believe many of them went in knowing they may not come back.”
The mayor further acknowledged Ryan Winslow, Thomas Rivers and Andrew Hand, young men from Hoover who, after the attack, volunteered to take part in the War on Terrorism. Each died in action.
This year’s keynote speaker was Hoover resident Mike White, a former All-Southeastern Conference member of the Crimson Tide football team who played for coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant and Ray Perkins and then served as a U.S. Navy SEAL for more than 11 years.
White admitted that he had been obsessing about the Patriot Day Remembrance Ceremony, both because of the speech he was asked to give and the stairs that he had agreed to climb.
"(Fire) Chief Clay Bentley, you're finally gonna get me to climb these stairs," White said Saturday in the Galleria food court. "I'm out of excuses. This event is important. My SEAL career is relatively unremarkable compared to the heroes of the post 9-11 era. In a world that is often divided, let us remember that we may not always agree on the details, but the core values of liberty, equality and justice unite us all."
Of the 200 people who attended Saturday’s remembrance ceremony, roughly 100 afterward participated in the annual Climb To Remember, commemorating the sacrifice of first responders who ran into the burning World Trade Center towers.
Most of those climbed the stairwells of the office tower that adjoins the Riverchase Galleria — The Offices at 3000 Riverchase — eight times to simulate the 110 floors first responders climbed trying to rescue people from the towers that were struck by the commercial jetliners.
