Kershaw County First Responders Honor 9/11 20th Anniversary

Firefighters from Lugoff and Camden Fire Departments were joined by dozens of other first responders who serve Kershaw County, as well as more than 100 residents and supporters in the Walk of Remembrance on Saturday, September 11th. 

The five mile walk from Camden Fire Station I to Lugoff Fire Department along U.S. Highway 1 marked the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001 and honored all of the first responders who gave their lives that day. 

This was the second annual Walk of Remembrance in Kershaw County. The idea came to firefighter Dejuan Warren in September 2020, while many other 9/11 memorial events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as a way to honor the fallen first responders of the 9/11 attacks while keeping his colleagues safe. 

“We received so much support in 2020 as we walked along Highway 1, we knew we had to keep this tradition going,” said Warren. “This time, we had even more supporters along our route, waving American flags; drivers honking their horns as they passed us. And it was great to have so many residents walking with us this time.”

This year’s Walk of Remembrance was successful thanks to the efforts of Lugoff Firefighter Talley Truesdale and Camden Fire Battalion Chief Chris Tidwell. Support came in a variety of other ways, as Food Lion of Camden and Food Lion of Lugoff donated bottled water and food for all participants. Local chapters of the Alpha Kappa Alpha and the Delta Sigma Theta sororities, as well as the Brothers Omega Si Phi fraternity and Wateree Baptist Church hosted water stations along the route, to keep walkers – some dressed in full gear – hydrated on their trek. 

Proceeds from the event, raised through the sale of memorial t-shirts, will be donated to The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, founded in honor of firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001.