Son of 9/11 Victim Carries Twin Towers Steel Across the United States
As part of a Tunnel to Towers Foundation campaign, the son of a firefighter who died in the 9/11 attacks transported a massive World Trade Center steel beam across the country for four months.
Stephen Siller Jr., the son of a New York City Fire Department member who lost his life in the September 11, 2001 attacks, delivered an approximately eight-ton World Trade Center steel beam to cities across the United States as part of the 25th-anniversary commemorative events.
Background of the Commemorative Campaign
On the morning of September 11, 2001, thirty-four-year-old New York City firefighter Stephen Siller ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers to respond to the attacks, becoming one of the three hundred forty-three firefighters who lost their lives that day. He left behind his wife, Sally, and five children, including Stephen Siller Jr., who was nine months old at the time.
The Nationwide Tour of the Steel Beam
Now twenty-five years old, Stephen Siller Jr. spent the past four months transporting the approximately eight-ton steel beam to dozens of different cities to honor the memory of his father and other first responders. This meaningful campaign, titled "Steel Across America," was organized through the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, founded by his uncle Frank Siller.
Key Locations Visited
The tour carried out within the scope of the campaign visited many different locations, including Ground Zero, the Flight 93 Memorial, Seattle, Oklahoma City, Mount Rushmore, and Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Florida. Thousands of people attended the events to touch the steel, mourn, and pass down history to the younger generation born after the attacks.