Patriot Day is a day that Americans remember and honor the victims who suffered a brutal and vicious attack on our freedom.

23 years ago today, Americans suffered one of the worst attacks in the history of our country, on our home soil. Today, we honor, remember, and celebrate the brave Americans who were on the frontlines of this horrendous act of violence.

Many Americans remember where they were, what they were doing, and how they found out the news about the attack in New York City. I was in my parents driveway, waiting for the school bus to bring me to my 5th grade classroom. Our local garbage man stopped by to collect the bins and he explained school might be strange that day.

Cedar Rapids Fire Fighters

11 Cedar Rapids Firefighters are honoring and remembering the 343 firefighters who died as they tried to save and protect those who were trapped in the rubble after the Twin Towers were crashed into.

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In full uniform, these 11 Cedar Rapids Firefighters climbed 21 flights of the Alliant Energy Tower. After an update from the Cedar Rapids Fire Department Facebook page, the climb has officially been completed.

In order to equal the height of the Twin Towers, these Fire Fighters climbed the Alliant Tower more than 5 times.

How To Repay Our Debt

While we can never repay the fire fighters, police officers, first responders, and patriots, who helped our fellow Americans when our country was suffering one of the darkest hours in the history of our nation, we can honor and remember them by doing a few simple things every day.

Every day, we can remember what it means to be an American and to be a patriot of our country. We can remember what it's like to care about our neighbors, we can remember to care about our communities, care about each other, even if/when we disagree. We can remember to care about our country and remember why America is the greatest country in the world. We can remember that we are lucky to be here.

Close to 3,000 people lost their lives, 23 years ago, on this day. We will never be able to repay that debt. What we can do is work at trying to be a little more kind, a little more caring, a little more patient, and a little more understanding every single day. Every single person can strive to be just a little bit better tomorrow.

Congratulations to these Cedar Rapids Firefighters and thank you to all first responders for coming to our aid when we need you the most.

Iowa Remembers September 11, 2001.