Tunnel to Towers Foundation Retraces Stephen Siller’s Final Steps on 9/11 Anniversary
News related to:Tunnel to Towers Foundation · 2 min read
Staten Island, New York, Sept. 11, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- On September 11, 2001, Stephen Siller, a firefighter with the New York Fire Department (FDNY), ran through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel toward the burning Twin Towers, where he ultimately lost his life. Twenty-five years later, his brother Frank Siller and members of the Siller family retraced Stephen’s final steps through the tunnel, carrying his memory and the promise that his sacrifice would never be forgotten.
The moment marked the culmination of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s four-and-a-half-month Steel Across America tour, which brought a 21-foot, 16,900-pound World Trade Center steel beam to communities across the country. The tour, which began in April 2023, spanned nearly 40 stops in 21 states, including military installations, firehouses, memorials, and other significant locations such as Mount Rushmore and the United States Military Academy at West Point.
This morning’s walk through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel was a deeply personal homecoming for the Siller family. Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, expressed the profound significance of the journey. “Stephen ran toward danger to help people he didn’t even know. We are here today to honor him, the 343, and every hero who has continued to serve in the years since.”
The tour’s journey ended where it began, in New York City, at the very place where the story of Stephen Siller and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation came to be. The tour’s conclusion coincided with the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a moment that brought together communities to remember and honor the heroes who responded that day.
As part of the 25th anniversary, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation honored 55 families of fallen first responders with mortgage payoffs or mortgage-free homes, representing 18 states. Twenty-seven of these families are from the New York metropolitan area, and 15 of the fallen first responders lost their lives to 9/11-related illnesses. This initiative is part of the Foundation’s broader 343 commitment, which honors the 343 FDNY firefighters who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
The Foundation’s mission to support America’s veterans, first responders, and the families they leave behind has transformed a day of loss into a national mission. Since its founding, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation has delivered more than 2,000 mortgage-free homes and provided housing assistance and essential services to over 20,000 veterans. The organization’s commitment to eradicating veteran homelessness and ensuring that the memory of those lost on 9/11 is never forgotten is a cornerstone of its ongoing efforts.
The Steel Across America tour was made possible through the support of numerous sponsors, including FOX, Fox News, GMC, The Home Depot Foundation, T-Mobile, Boeing, Anheuser-Busch, Hamlin Capital Management, Celsius, Carpet One Floor & Home, Masterbrand Cabinets Inc., Mohawk, API Group, Jiffy Lube, Turnpoint Services, IKEA, UPS, the New York Giants, the New York Jets, Willow Bridge Property Company, the Esther & Harold Mertz Foundation, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP, United Rentals, Horse Soldier Bourbon Whiskey, Mission BBQ, BGR Group, GE Aerospace, Exiger, Amazon, AE Industrial, and Clear.
The tour’s route and more information are available on the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s website, T2T.org. The organization invites the public to visit the site to learn more about its ongoing efforts and to support its mission.