March to the Memorial, what you can expect for the 21-mile march throughout South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Tomorrow marks 25 years since 9/11 and one group in South Bend is marching 21 miles to honor the thousands of lives lost in that terrorist attack.

25 years ago, Bob Lyons was working in New York City when terror struck. Now living in South Bend, he said his calling is to help educate others about what happened that day.

Lyons started the 'March to the Memorial' eight years ago as a way to show respect and go above and beyond to honor the lives lost. This year, about 30 people are signed up for the free 21-mile walk from Erskine Plaza to Saint Pat’s Park. Along the route, participants stop at local fire stations to show appreciation for those who serve.

“Our rest stops are fire stations, so it fosters community engagement with our first responders." says March to the Memorial founder Bob Lyons, “(were) saying, ‘Thank you for what you do. We love you guys and gals, thank you for risking your lives for us.’ That day, total strangers with totally different backgrounds helped save each other, and now they're best friends. That's 9/11 in a nutshell. We bring a little bit of that to the walk, because over time, we create a small family." 

Lyons says there are seven rest stops, all at fire stations.  Halfway through, marchers will stop for lunch provided by Mission BBQ. If you can’t walk the full 21 miles, Lyons encourages anyone to jump in for a portion of the route by meeting them at a rest stop.

Lyons emphasizes that this is strictly a non-political event meant to unite the community, just as the country came together 25 years ago. Ellie Fideli will be out there covering the march tomorrow, so if you miss it in person, you can see full coverage on ABC57 News at 5.