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Fox News’ Benjamin Hall is preparing to conquer more than 2,000 steps to the top of One World Trade Center on Sunday, climbing alongside the very doctor who saved Hall’s life when he was critically wounded in Ukraine.
Speaking on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Hall and military trauma surgeon Dr. Joe Alderete explained why they’re taking on the challenge for the 10th annual Tunnel to Towers Tower Climb.
“If I have to crawl to get to the very top, I will crawl to get to the top because we need to show that we’re there alongside all these people,” Hall said Saturday.
On Sunday, Hall will climb to the top of One World Trade Center in New York City to raise money for Gold Star families and the families of fallen first responders. Hall will make the climb, which is more than 2,000 steps and 104 stories, on prosthetic legs to send the message to others facing difficult circumstances that they can keep going.
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“If I can climb to the top of the skyscraper on prosthetic legs, then maybe that sends a message to anyone else who’s gone through something difficult,” Hall said. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve been hurt. You pick yourself up, and you can keep climbing.”
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In March 2022, while covering the war in Ukraine, Hall and his crew were hit by Russian missiles outside Kyiv while traveling in a car. Fox News photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova were killed in the attack.
Hall was left fighting for his life and required amputations on both legs.
Dr. Alderete described Hall after the attack, saying he was different from other severely injured patients he’s seen.
“Ben had a different look in his eyes that really told Colonel Jennifer Gurney and I, fellow trauma surgeon, that this is somebody who’s not [going to] be broken,” Alderete said, adding, “So it doesn’t surprise me that we’re here today.”
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The Tunnel to Towers event honors the lives and sacrifices of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The foundation was created in honor of Stephen Siller, an off-duty firefighter who sacrificed his life to save others at the Twin Towers.
The climb takes place just months ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Hall and Dr. Alderete will join 1,250 participants who are taking on the challenge to support the organization’s mission to provide mortgage-free homes to families of fallen heroes.
“My injuries don’t matter. It doesn’t matter how injured I was. I got back to my family. But these people did not,” Hall said. “And so we’re raising money for the families of those who did not come home, and so we should all be part of their growing family now.”
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