Columbia’s 9/11 Memorial Walk to honor the lives lost in New York City in 2001 drew one its largest crowds this morning since its inception.
The walk, which was started by Columbia Fire Department Capt. Nathan Guy, began at CFD Station 2 at 101 Evergreen St. and concluded at CFD Station 1 on Pearl St., making various stops along the way to pray. 
When he first started the walk, Guy said he started to notice that Americans, even within the fire service, were forgetting about how fateful Sept. 11, 2001, was for the entire nation.
“The whole motto, from the very beginning, was ‘Never Forget.’ As time went on, people forgot. As we were doing the walk (in recent years), people would stop and ask us what we were doing. When we remind them that it’s 9/11, they’re like, ‘Oh, I didn’t think anything of it’ because now it’s just like it’s another day.” 
Guy said it’s for that exact reason why the memorial walk is conducted on Sept. 11, regardless of what day of the week it is.
“As first responders, the day of the week doesn’t matter. The time of the day doesn’t matter,” Guy explained. “That day was a Tuesday morning, and for those guys it was just another day at work until everything fell apart. So doing it on Sept. 11 means a lot.
“We’re just trying to remind that those were our brothers and sisters. If you work in this field, that’s family that you’ve never met. We all have a bond. We’re all in service to the public, and just because of that, we’re all like a big family. First responders all over the country have one common interest.
“It tugs at your heartstrings that people forget us until they absolutely need us. All those that died during that and all those who continued to suffer for years because of it, nobody thinks about them anymore.” 
