FLORENCE, Ky. — A 9/11 mobile exhibit traveling the country has stopped in northern Kentucky this week. The mission of the exhibit to educate people and serve as a tribute to all the lives lost that September day in 2001.
Jim Kielty, a retired firefighter captain, was one of the many on the scene in New York on that fateful day. At the time, he served as a firefighter in Brooklyn and Coney Island.
“It was chaos,” Kielty said. “The buildings had come down, so I didn’t get caught in those big dust clouds. When I got there, it was more stabilized. A lot of fires were out already, and it was just recovery at that point.”
Now, Kielty travels the country with the 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit — something he’s been doing for a decade now. The Tunnels to Towers Foundation said the exhibit pays tribute to the lives lost on Sept. 11 and has educated over 600,000 people around the country.
The exhibit stopped in northern Kentucky for the first time. Kielty can be found talking to people about the historic day while the exhibit is stationed in Florence.
“It’s nice to show people what really happened that day,” Kielty shared.
The exhibit is a chance for first responders like Kielty to share their story and shine a light on the heroism that day.
“You know, you’d hear about first responder injuries, first responder deaths here and there, but to have it on such a large scale brought the reality, the dangers in it, and it brought back what generations ago experienced when Pearl Harbor was attacked,” said Chris Miller, assistant fire chief with the Florence Fire Department.
Representatives with Meet NKY said it serves as a reminder of the role first responders play during emergencies. They also said it’s an up-close and personal way for many to understand the significance of 9/11 — especially for younger generations.
“There’s a whole generation—some of these folks, it’s now 2023, so they’re 22 years old and they weren’t alive when this happened and we have to keep this memory alive,” said Meet NKY Director of Product Development Josh Guinn.
That’s what Kielty hopes he can do with the travelling exhibit.
“There’s just a lot of things people don’t realize looking at the names — brothers, fathers, sons, relatives dying, you know? It’s been a long time so never forget, and that’s why we’re here,” he said.
The exhibit will run daily through May 14 at the Florence Government Center.
