Courtesy of family
Karli Buhr
On September 11, Karli Buhr plans to pay tribute to first responders in a special way. The 11-year-old from Thatcher, Arizona, will take part in a memorial stair climb. Events like this honor the emergency workers who sacrificed their lives to help others on September 11, 2001.
On that day, terrorists flew two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Firefighters, police officers, and other first responders quickly arrived at the scene. As terrified people ran from each of the 110-story skyscrapers, emergency workers did the opposite. They entered the towers and climbed the stairs to try to save as many people as possible.
Meanwhile, terrorists flew a third plane into the Pentagon, the U.S. military headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
In total, nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks that day, now known as 9/11. That includes more than 400 firefighters, police officers, and paramedics who were killed when the Twin Towers collapsed.