Members Of FDNY Running Across USA To Honor 9/11
NEW YORK (WCBS 880 / AP) - Members of the FDNY are among firefighters planning to run from Los Angeles to New York in remembrance of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
LISTEN: WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reports
The Tour of Duty run starts at the Santa Monica Pier Thursday in Los Angeles at 8:46 a.m., when the first plane struck the twin towers.
LINK: Tour of Duty Run (Official Website)
Among the 34 firefighters from around the world participating in the event is James Dowdell, a member of New York's Bravest, as WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reports.
Since he was 8-years-old, Dowdell wanted to follow his father's footsteps and be a firefighter in New York City.
Now, James is 25-years-old and running to honor the memory of his father, Kevin Dowdell, who was killed on 9/11.
"You just think about what those guys went through that day, on 9/11, and I think everyone will think about that, and how could you not run? You know, that's one big motivator," Dowdell says.
Runners will go to Las Vegas and then east to Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Chicago before finishing in New York on Sept. 11. They will travel 4,600 miles.
Updates will be posted on the FDNY's Facebook and Twitter sites. Funds raised will be donated to charities.
