The family of 9/11 hero Stephen Siller will honor the 25th anniversary of the attacks by following the same path the FDNY firefighter took when he ran through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel toward the World Trade Center.
Frank Siller and other relatives will take part in the private memorial walk before meeting hundreds of friends, supporters and members of the Tunnel to Towers community at the FDNY Ten House.
The gathering will bring the Tunnel to Towers “Steel Across America” tour to a close after months on the road. Since May, the tour has carried Siller’s story and a 21-foot steel beam from the South Tower to communities across the country.
Frank Siller, CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, stands near a piece of World Trade Center steel that will be featured during the foundation’s effort to honor and remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks as the 25th anniversary approaches. (Courtesy: Tunnel to Towers Foundation)
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Siller had just finished his fire department shift when he learned that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.
“Stephen drove his truck to the entrance of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, but it had already been closed for security purposes. Determined to carry out his duty, he strapped 60 lbs. of gear to his back, and raced on foot through the tunnel to the Twin Towers, where he gave up his life while saving others,” the tour’s website recounts.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was started in honor of FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who died responding to the attacks. (Tunnel to Towers Foundation)
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was created in Siller’s memory and inspired by his favorite quote: “While we have time, let us do good.” Since then, the organization has delivered more than 1,700 mortgage-free homes to families of fallen service members and first responders, as well as to disabled veterans and first responders. It has also provided housing assistance and support services to more than 20,000 homeless veterans, while hosting hundreds of events nationwide to honor America’s heroes and keep alive the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Institute has helped to educate students from kindergarten through 12th grade on the “extraordinary heroism and goodness of everyday people” on Sept. 11, “while demonstrating the strength and resilience of America’s spirit.” Its mobile 9/11 exhibit has traveled to nearly all 50 states as well as Canada.
Tunnel to Towers Foundation Chairman and CEO Frank Siller speaks during the Steel Across America tour’s stop at West Point. (Jason Thiele Fotografik Memories/Courtesy Tunnel to Towers Foundation)
To mark the 25th anniversary, Tunnel to Towers also launched its 343 Homes Initiative this year to honor the 343 New York firefighters who died on Sept. 11. According to the group, this initiative will deliver 343 mortgage-free homes to the families of fallen service members and fallen first responders as well as to catastrophically injured service members across the country.
