USAG Wiesbaden honors 25th anniversary of 9/11 through community partnership
CLAY KASERNE, Germany — U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by coming together as one community in remembrance of the nearly 3,000 lives lost and the enduring sacrifices made by service members, emergency responders, and their families.
To honor them, the garrison joined together with its community partners to host a prayer breakfast and a memorial stair climb — two events that paid tribute to those who ran toward the danger and the resilience of the friends, families, and colleagues who continue to carry their loss.
9/11 Remembrance Breakfast
Early that morning, the USAG Wiesbaden Religious Support Office co-hosted a 9/11 prayer breakfast with 66th Military Intelligence Brigade.
Around 110 community members came together at The Airlift to reflect on the experiences of those who lived through that day and the legacy it shaped in the 25 years since.
Serving as the event’s guest speaker, retired Army Col. Marcus A. Kuiper recalled the events of that morning. At the time, Kuiper was working on the fourth floor of the Pentagon, roughly 100 feet from where American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building. Kuiper, who had just watched the television news coverage of the Twin Towers from his Pentagon desk as a sudden, violent shudder signaled that his own building had been struck.
Immediately after the impact, amid darkness, fire, and heavy smoke, he helped evacuate personnel from his office area. He noted that survival that day was not an individual act, but a mutual effort of people looking out for one another in the chaos.
As smoke began to fill the offices, automated fire doors began to seal shut, threatening to trap Kuiper inside until escaping civilians quickly blocked the closing exits.
“They made sure those doors did not shut. If they had not done that, I would have been sealed inside and died from smoke. So, while I'm saving a life, people are saving my life."
The devastation did not stop the mission, as service members and civilians reported back to work the very next morning.
"September 11 happened, but then September 12 happened, and we all rallied together as a nation," said Col. Todd Harkrader, commander of the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade.
9/11 Memorial Climb
To honor the 343 Firefighters and dozens of other EMS personnel who died responding to the attacks on Sept. 11, the garrison spent the evening hosting a stair-climb event organized by its Directorate of Emergency Services.
Members of the Wiesbaden community were invited to climb up to 2,200 steps, symbolizing the 110 flights of stairs of the World Trade Center.
To complete this task, each participant would climb the stairs to top floor of the large parking garage on Clay Kaserne 21 times. Only the climb up would count.
"This is done as a remembrance. This is to honor the 3,000 people who lost their lives that day, the firefighters, the police officers, as well as other emergency medical service members that ran up while everybody else was running down in those buildings," said Lt. Col. Johnny Howze, director of emergency services, "This is not a race. [This is to] remember them and remember the reason why we're here, and those who can't be here with us tonight."
At the event attendees had the chance to add the names of the ones they lost that day on a memorial board, as well as where they were when it happened.
"What they did not expect was the flight that didn't make its destination, and it's the spirit of that, that they also miscalculated,” said Garrison Commander Col. Ringo Midles during his remarks. “Before the 11th of September passed, there was a plane that understood what had happened from three other planes before it, and they knew that they were in harm's way [...]. And they chose to fight back, and they did. Successfully, at the cost of their own well-being. But that plane did not make its intended destination. Instead, it went down on a farm field."
Forty passengers and crew died on United Airlines Flight 93 after they fought back against the hijackers, causing the plane to crash in a field.
"They also did not expect the 12th of September. The 12th of September was an outpouring of patriotism [...]. They did not expect that our NATO allies and friends would stay tight and close to us, and stand with us like never before. We will remember that today,” he said.
“We will do something that is hard, something that is fitting,” Midles said of the stair climb. “We could have done something easier. But it wouldn't have been respectful."
More than 20 host nation partners from the German firefighters, Polizei, and Landeskommando also participated in the event.
“The anniversary of the September 11 attacks was, of course, a turning point for German firefighters as well,” said Sven Janneck, Wiesbaden Fire Department liaison officer. "And here we are, 25 years later, and I think it’s so great that we are here and we are still working together so closely and so well. It doesn’t matter at all what uniform we wear, what nationality we are, or whether we’re inside the fence or outside the fence. Today’s event has simply shown that there’s an incredible sense of solidarity and that we know we can always count on our partners—our Allies, so to speak. And that’s just great.”
Firefighters on 9/11 carried an immense amount of equipment as they climbed the World Trade Center towers, often carrying between 50 and 80 pounds of gear. In solidarity, several emergency responders participated in the climb wearing full protective equipment.
“Especially in the fire department, camaraderie is incredibly important, it is a very moving event to honor the people who gave their lives to help others, and to honor the victims accordingly,” said Nico Mistygacz, firefighter with the Wiesbaden Fire Departement,”and on the other hand, there’s the physical fitness aspect, just to give it your all, pushing your limits.”
In total over 70 participants climbed up the stairs that day.
Why We Continue to Remember
Twenty-five years later, remembrance observances serve not only as a solemn tribute to the fallen, but as an essential reminder of readiness and shared purpose. Passing down these firsthand accounts ensures that the sacrifices of that day and the unity that followed remain an active foundation for the garrison’s culture and operational vigilance.
Personal Reflections on 9/11
Chief Patrick Newman Jr., with the Wiesbaden Directorate of Emergency Services, was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, in September 2001.
Driving past the Pentagon with his family that morning, Newman vividly remembers the moment of impact.
"As we approached Washington, D.C., we noticed a plane flying unusually low. This wasn't entirely out of the ordinary, as Reagan National Airport is close to the Pentagon, but just as we were about to pass the Pentagon, we witnessed [the plane] crashing into the building," Newman said. "We couldn't believe what we were seeing. Secondary explosions were going off. The scene was pure chaos, with people running from their cars on the highway toward the crash site to help in any way they could."
After bringing his family to safety, Newman immediately reported to duty.
"When I reported to work, I learned that the plane had struck the very section of the Pentagon where Soldiers from one of our battalion's companies were assigned. I knew some of them, and this fact made the abstract horror of the attack deeply personal," he recalled.
One moment in particular still haunts him today.
"I was helping set up the Emergency Operations Center," Newman said. "The phone on my desk rang. It was the Child Development Center on Fort Belvoir, calling because Soldier had failed to pick up her child. I took down the name and began searching the company rosters. It was then that I realized the child's mother had perished in the attack. She was never coming. That child no longer had a mother."
A total of 184 victims died during the attack on the Pentagon, including the 59 passengers and crew aboard American Airlines Flight 77 and 125 personnel inside the building.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Command Sgt. Maj. Andre Brown was at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, only a few weeks into basic combat training when he received news of the attacks. Today, he reflects on the tragedy and how it shaped the nation and the Army over the past 25 years. https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1022556/25-years-later-csm-andre-brown-reflects-9-11
Mitchell Jones, USAG Wiesbaden deputy to the garrison commander, was a newly promoted operations officer working in the Emergency Operations Center in Grafenwöhr, Germany, on 9/11. Twenty-five years later, he reflects on how those events shaped his service as an Army leader and as an American. https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1022557/25-years-later-mitchell-jones-reflects-9-11
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