Firefighters recall Sept. 11 events, form friendships over loss

SYCAMORE - Jim Lyons didn't go to the World Trade Center in September 2001. But the now-retired Sycamore firefighter wanted to honor his fallen comrades, so a year later, he went to Colorado Spring, Colo., to an annual memorial put on by the International Association of Fire Fighters. &#8220I thought everybody is rushing to New York and when they have this service nobody is going to go to it,” he said. Every September, the firefighters have a memorial, but it was canceled in 2001. He attended in 2002 as a member of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois Honor Guard. Its purpose is to support the family and show support for a firefighter who died in the line of duty. During the ceremony, typically 100 names are added to the memorial. In 20