Sheboygan Tunnel to Towers 5k honors 9/11 fallen heroes

TOWN OF SHEBOYGAN - Crossing the finish line was more than just a moment at the sixth annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Walk in Sheboygan.

Organizers, runners and walkers honored the many lives lost on Sept. 11, including the 343 firefighters.

Wearing about 35 pounds of equipment head to toe, Brandon Kehoe, a Sheboygan County police detective, said participating in the fundraiser was an honor he couldn't pass up.

"I was a senior in high school on 9/11 of ’01, and I remember seeing the footage of all the firefighters, police officers sprinting with all their equipment on. If that’s what they did on that day, that’s what I’m going to do to commemorate their memory today," said Kehoe.

Nearly 300 people showed up to the Town of Sheboygan Fire Department ready to run and walk in honor of the fallen heroes from the terrorist attacks in 2001.

Each person wore a picture of a firefighter who died on that day, and as they crossed the finish line, they rang a bell as a final salute to their service.

"When you’re running that race and see the pictures of all the fallen first responders, you don’t think about the pain, you don’t think about the misery, it’s just get to the finish line because that’s what they would want," Kehoe said.

This event was put on by Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The organization helps provide mortgage-free homes to injured veterans; a mission that extends to the families of all fallen first-responders and veterans, such as Jacole Hall. Hall's husband, Dominic Hall, died in 2022.

"My boys lost their father on September 4, 2022, and because of Tunnel to Towers, they did not lose their mother too," said Hall, a Gold Star family member.

Organizers said funds raised at the event also will go towards building smart homes for injured veterans and first responders. 

For Rich Gillette of the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office, the day of remembrance reminds him of the days and weeks of unity that followed Sept. 11.

"The camaraderie, the coming together, it’s something that we haven’t seen in a long time," Gillette said.

"That’s what we need to get back to, that day, September 12th, the unity, not having the division, looking out for each other because that’s what our founding fathers would want," Kehoe said.

Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Andrew Amouzou and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.

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