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Most of us remember where we were when the World Trade Center was attacked, and we all have our own way of remembering those who died. For one Utah man, it means taking a hike, because he was there in the middle of it all seven years ago.
Flags at the Healing Field in Sandy honor those who died on September 11, 2001. It is a sight to see, but for Damian Darcy, there was only one flag on his mind today, and it took a hike up the side of a Farmington mountain to see it up close.
Trying to keep Damian Darcy from doing this hike today would be about as impossible as trying to turn back time to prevent 9/11. "You see something of that magnitude, and it changes your perspective on life and your occupation," he said.
Darcy lives in Utah now, but exactly seven years ago to the day, he was an emergency medical technician in New York City. What he sees when he closes his eyes doesn't go away just by opening them.
"Every year, the anniversary is tough," he said. You watch TV, sometimes Seinfeld or a movie, you catch a glimpse of the towers. Growing up in New York, always seeing the towers in the background, it hurts."
That's why he makes the hike every year. Officially, it's a geocaching hike he goes on with his friends, using GPS devices to find hidden treasures. But everyone there knows it's really a 9/11 remembrance hike.
The trail up the side of a Farmington mountain leads to a flag, which Farmington resident Randy West and his brother put up specifically for September 11th. "It was still hard to believe. In fact, when I see any repeats today, I still can't believe that was real," West said.
From where the flag sits, all the way down to the cul-de-sac where the trail starts, is about the height of the Trade Center Towers, giving everyone who hikes the trail a good sense of how tall those buildings actually were.
"It refreshes your memory of what it was like running into the towers, running up the stairs," Darcy said. He made it to the sixth floor of the second tower that was hit, helping people evacuate. He made it out just as the building collapsed. What has bothered him for years is that his partner and others didn't.
"I think of everyone who fell. I lost 42 good friends, people I know, their wives, their kids," he said.
He's learned to live with that day. Hikes like this one help. "You can't look at 9/11 and turn it into a day of mourning. You turn it into a day of remembrance," Darcy said.
Darcy has lived in Salt Lake City for three years now and plans on doing this hike every year. He feels being in the mountains, away from a lot of commotion, and taking a few moments of silence is the best way, for him, to reflect on that day he lived through.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
