MOUNTAIN, Wis. (NBC 26) — Thousands will gather at Lambeau Field on Saturday in Green Bay for the annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. It honors the 343 firefighters who lost their lives in the September 11 attacks. Among those participating is a Wisconsin couple with a story of incredible survival.
John and Donna Kneeley from Mountain, WI were inside the Twin Towers when the planes hit. Thanks to one brave firefighter, they found the strength to survive. Now, they are determined to keep his sacrifice alive.
Inside the Towers on 9/11
John and Donna were on the 77th floor of Tower One when the unthinkable happened. At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into their building, 16 floors above.
"It felt like the building was kicked," Donna said. "We looked out the windows, and it just looked like a ticker tape parade, all the debris coming down."
The couple quickly made their way to the stairwell and began the long descent. For the first several floors, the stairway was mostly empty.
But by the time they reached the 29th floor, the situation changed.
That’s when they met Lt. Kevin Donnally, one of the firefighters who lost his life that day. Donna remembers their brief conversation with him, where they learned that two planes had hit the towers.
A Desperate Escape
Once outside, John and Donna could finally grasp the full scope of the disaster.
"The first thing we did when we actually got out was look up. That's when we saw what had happened. We had no idea." Donna said.
Donna, six months pregnant at the time, stopped to catch her breath. The two had escaped Tower One just five minutes before Tower Two collapsed.
"It just looked like the facade of the building was melting off," John said. "The concept that the building was coming down had never crossed my mind."
As the second tower fell, the couple was engulfed in a massive cloud of debris.
"We decided that we couldn't outrun the cloud that was coming our way," John said.
"It looked like a 30-story cloud of debris just coming down this narrow New York Street. It was, was hot. You couldn't see anything," Donna said.
Honoring a Hero
In the 23 years since, John and Donna have continued to tell their story to honor the firefighter who helped keep them calm amid the chaos. Lt. Kevin Donnally, the firefighter they met in the stairwell, was killed while trying to rescue people in Tower One.
To honor his memory, the couple has raised more than $4,300 for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. They will participate in the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Lambeau FieldSaturday, Sept. 7, to commemorate the sacrifices made by Donnally and other first responders.
The climb begins with registration at 8 a.m. The opening ceremony is at 9 a.m.
A Remarkable Outcome
What makes the Kneeleys' story even more remarkable is that the entire office staff that John and Donna were with that day made it out of the building safely. All 25 members survived. Only one person got hurt.
"It’s amazing to me, 23 years later, Wisconsin is putting on this stair climb, and there are going to be three or four thousand people attending. It’s just so mind-boggling that so many people still care," John said.
The Kneeleys remain dedicated to telling their story so that the memories of those who perished — like Lt. Kevin Donnally— are never forgotten.
