RAPID CITY, S.D. — Rapid City firefighters, military members, first responders and community members will come together Sept. 11 to mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks with a remembrance ruck march up M Hill and a golf tournament benefiting several organizations.

The day will begin at 8 a.m. at M Hill with guest speakers and a ceremony before the ruck march begins at 9:11 a.m. Participants will hike to the top of the hill and return, with the climb representing the 110 stories of the World Trade Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Rapid City Fire Department’s Hunter Harlan said organizers expect several hundred people to participate and stressed that the event is intended to remember those who died and those whose lives were changed by the attacks. “This is all about a day of remembrance. It’s not a day of celebration,” Harlan said. “So many of us remember exactly where we were that very moment when those towers fell.”

Organizers are encouraging families and people of all abilities to participate at their own pace. Harlan said the hike is not a race, adding, “You can go as quick as you want, or you can go as slow as you want.” Two hundred shirts donated by Toms Tees will also be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The opening ceremony is expected to include representatives from local fire and law enforcement agencies, Ellsworth Air Force Base and the city of Rapid City. Harlan said a firefighter who responded following the Sept. 11 attacks is also expected to speak. Brandon Jones is scheduled to perform the national anthem.

Organizers are also planning an aerial component to the ceremony. Harlan said a B-1 flyover is tentatively scheduled, although military operations could change those plans. Black Hawk helicopters could be used instead to mark the beginning of the ruck march.

For South Dakota Army National Guard member Tyler Eaton, the anniversary carries personal meaning. Eaton was 4 years old when the attacks occurred and remembers watching the events unfold on television with his grandparents. “I think that was kind of the first step in molding me and the reason that I joined the military,” Eaton said. Now 29 and a 12-year member of the Guard who has deployed twice, Eaton said the attacks continue to shape military culture and the reasons many choose to serve.

Harlan was living in Tennessee and working nights when the attacks happened. A friend called and told him to turn on the television. Harlan and his wife, who was pregnant with their first child at the time, watched the events unfold. “We were just in awe as we sat there,” Harlan said, recalling wondering what kind of world they were about to bring their child into.

Harlan said the anniversary also provides an opportunity to teach younger generations who did not experience the attacks firsthand. Some members of the Rapid City Fire Department were not yet born on Sept. 11, 2001, he said.

Following the M Hill event, a golf tournament will begin at noon at Meadowbrook Golf Course. The scramble tournament will use a shotgun start and includes lunch. Registration had officially closed with 36 teams signed up, but Harlan said a limited number of openings may remain. Teams interested in participating should contact the Rapid City Fire Department and ask for Harlan or Tessa Yeager. The cost is $500 per team. The tournament will also include raffle prizes, with donations including a pheasant hunting trip and other items from area businesses.

A portion of the tournament proceeds will benefit the Colorado Children’s Burn Center, the Ellsworth Fire Department Association and the Rapid City Fire Department Association. Harlan said money directed to the burn center will help send children who have suffered serious burns to camp, where they can spend time with other children who have experienced similar injuries. “If you go to a camp and all the children are fairly similar, it is normal,” Harlan said. “You’re riding horses, you’re fishing, you’re doing things and just having a great time.”

The Rapid City and Ellsworth fire departments joined forces for this year’s observance after Ellsworth firefighters, who traditionally hold a Sept. 11 event on base, approached Rapid City about expanding the commemoration for the 25th anniversary.

The event is being made possible through the combined efforts of several local first responder and military partners. Organizers thanked Staff Sgt. Tyler Eaton with the South Dakota Army National Guard; Randy Maxon, Jason Kmiotek and Nick Sabo with Ellsworth Air Force Base; Hunter Harlan, Tessa Jager and Joe Essi with the Rapid City Fire Department; and Mike Reed with South Dakota Wildland Fire for their work in bringing the 25th anniversary remembrance event together.

Harlan said he hopes the anniversary will bring the community together to remember the lives lost, the first responders who answered the call and the military members who served in the years that followed. “We watched our troops get deployed. We watched all of this happening, and we watched our country come together as one big unit,” Harlan said. “It was really impressive that day.”

Additional information about the Sept. 11 remembrance events is available through the Rapid City Fire Department’s Facebook page.