ST. LOUIS — 200 people in West County showed up at the starting line for the 21-mile March to the Arch Memorial Walk, lead by Bo Drochelman who started it by himself nearly 20 years ago.
"It couldn't just be spending money, giving money to someone. It had to be something that required a sacrifice. So I just decided to walk down to the Arch. I didn't tell anybody," Drochelman said.
Every year since, more and more people joined him. The 8-hour long walk ended with about 500 people, as more joined along the way.
"The theory of the United States, we don't always start at the same location, but we all finish together and no man left behind. If somebody falls, somebody stops, we slow down, they stay with us. We're finishing together," he said.
They walked through Forest Park to see the more than 7,000 Flags of Valor where Denise Rhoades spent time remembering the Fallen.
"I'm kind of a history buff and a patriot. My father served in Vietnam, my husband was a Marine," Rhoades said.
She and her husband volunteered with about 600 other people to place the flags on Art Hill.
"It's our job to remember and to tell the stories to the kids that don't remember," she said.
That same sentiment was shared at a barbecue in Eureka for the firefighters who were a part of the Missouri Task Force 1 and flew to New York City on Sept. 11 to do search and rescue.
"Just recognize the people that come before me and the ultimate sacrifice that are out there and how thankful I should be for where I'm at and the job I do," Fire Chief for the City of Richmond Heights, Phil Goode said.
"It wasn't about me and it wasn't about what I could do, it was about what we could do together to help this big disaster," added Deputy Chief of Support Services for the Eureka Fire Protection District, William Stamberger.
Three different events, with people from all walks of life, coming together to remember the day that impacted us all 20 years ago.
"They were Americans. They were the people we didn't know, but we did know because they are American," Drochelman said.
The flags at Forest Park will be up until Monday morning.