Rhode Island man tracing the routes of terrorist attacks in memory of those who died on 9/11

Rhode Island man tracing the routes of terrorist attacks in memory of those who died on 9/11

Published: Thursday, August 25, 2011, 7:09 PM Updated: Thursday, August 25, 2011, 7:33 PM

By MONICA VON DOBENECK, The Patriot-News

MONICA VON DOBENECK, The Patriot-News Joe Patrick strides along Route 11 near Carlisle on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011. The Rhode Island man is passing through the midstate on his way to Ground Zero to honor the first responders to the 9/11 tragedy. He began his walk Aug. 8 at the Pentagon, hiking to the Flight 93 site in Shanksville.
Joe Patrick was limping a little as he strode down Route 11 south of Carlisle this afternoon, holding a flag and carrying the 70 pound pack with the cardboard sign reading “Destination Ground Zero.”

He started walking Aug. 8 at the Pentagon, traveled to Shanksville and is now in the midstate on his way to New York City.

He has developed shin splints and he twisted his ankle a few days ago jumping out of the way of a truck, he said. But that won’t stop him from delivering the pack and a fireman’s jacket, covered with signatures of first responders he has met on his journey, to Station 54 in New York City. That fire department lost 15 men to the 9/11 terrorist attacks ten years ago.

Patrick, 49, of Peace Dale, Rhode Island, was in New York just days after the attack, volunteering to help in any way he could. He made sandwiches, did laundry, picked up trash, and delivered messages. The last week he was there, he attended funerals for some of the people who died.

“It was very humbling and very sad,” he said later this afternoon while nursing a beer in the Elks Lodge in Carlisle. “It added to the grief I had to vent on this trip.”

At first, he planned his walk as a personal quest, he said. Something to give closure to the devastation he still sometimes feels. Then he was interviewed about his experiences after 9/11 by some high school students, and it seemed they “didn’t get it,” he said. It was no more than an assignment to them.

“People have forgotten, what with the wars and the economy,” he said. “Maybe this can bring awareness.”

He owns his own executive search company, so he was able to get away for his one month walk.

People often stop to talk to him and offer him water, he said. Mostly, they want to tell their own 9/11 stories. It seems to give them release.

Dan McClintock, a patron at the Elks Lodge, said he thought what Patrick is doing is wonderful.

“There are still things we can do so we’re not forgetting those who died on 9/11,” he said.

John Quirk, assistant fire chief for the Union Fire Company in Carlisle, is also impressed. Patrick planned to spend the night at the fire hall and get more signatures for his pack.

“We have plenty of beds. We thought we could offer him some lodging and a place to relax,” Quirk said. “It seems like something he has to do to get closure for what he saw on 9/11 and the days after.”

Patrick plans to stay a day or two at the fire station, icing his legs, buying a new pair of boots and keeping an eye on the weather before he heads into Harrisburg, then Lancaster County.

His good friend Mary Clarke has been helping him with the logistics from Rhode Island, letting him know the best route and setting up lodging. She was also a volunteer after 9/11, working for four months in the command center for the American Red Cross.

“He’s so passionate,” she said. “He feels a real connection with the people of New York. It’s a pilgrimage of the heart for him.”

© 2011 PennLive.com. All rights reserved.

Joe Patrick - Remembering 9/11

As Joe meets people on his walk to New York city he shares not only his own passion and memories but their stories as well.

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