Family Retraces FDNY Firefighter’s Steps for Tunnel to Towers

On Friday, as the nation observed the solemn 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Tunnel to Towers Foundation Chairman and CEO Frank Siller joined relatives in honoring his brother Stephen Siller. The 34-year-old firefighter, husband and father gave his life after responding to the attack on the Twin Towers, making his way on foot through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel while carrying his firefighting equipment.

“Together, they carried Stephen’s memory, his legacy, and the promise that his sacrifice – like so many others – would Never Be Forgotten,” Tunnel to Towers said in a press release.

The remembrance marked the finale of the foundation’s Steel Across America tour, which brought a recovered Twin Towers steel beam to communities nationwide over several months before returning to New York for the Siller family’s walk through the tunnel.

“This morning’s walk through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel was part of the conclusion of Steel Across America, a journey that began four-and-a-half months ago and carried a 21-foot, 16,900-pound World Trade Center steel beam more than 10,500 miles through nearly 40 stops across the country and back, stopping in more than 21 states,” the organization said. “For over four months, the steel has been a gathering place for communities to remember the events of September 11th, to honor first responders and veterans, and to ensure that a new generation understands the significance of what happened 25 years ago.”

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Stephen Siller Jr., who Frank Siller said was only 9 months old when his father was killed, spoke about the foundation’s impact during a Friday appearance on “Fox & Friends.” “The Tunnel to Towers foundation has given my family so much, through the loss of my father, through the work we’re doing to keep his memory alive,” he said. “Every day we have events across the country. Every day we’re helping somebody in his name. That is such a beautiful, beautiful gift.”

According to Tunnel to Towers, Stephen Siller had already completed an overnight shift with the New York City Fire Department when he learned that the World Trade Center had been attacked.

“On the morning of September 11, 2001, Stephen had just completed his overnight shift as an FDNY firefighter and was going to play golf with his brothers when he heard about the attacks on the World Trade Center on his personal scanner. He turned his car around and headed toward Manhattan to help. When he found that his unit had already responded and that the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel closed to traffic, he strapped 60 pounds of firefighting gear to his back and ran through the tunnel on foot toward the Twin Towers. Stephen, like so many others that day, never came home,” the organization said.

“Born from the tragedy of 9/11, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation carries out its mission to “do good” by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders,” according to the press release. “Children of the Foundation’s home recipients are offered full scholarships for undergraduate degrees and accredited trade school programs, helping secure their futures. The Foundation is also committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and helping America Never Forget September 11, 2001.”