Today we pause to honor the lives lost twenty years ago on September 11, 2001. We also honor the many people who continue to remember through walking, running, and climbing. Their journeys remind us never to forget.
PAULIE’S PUSH
Former flight attendant Paul “Paulie” Veneto is pushing an airline beverage cart from Boston’s Logan Airport to Ground Zero in New York City. His walk is a moving tribute to the flight attendants and crew members killed on 9/11. Along the way, local first responders, residents, and supporters have joined him for various legs of the journey. He calls it Paulie’s Push.
Veneto says: “I am doing this because I want these crew members’ families to know how courageous they were that day. I want the public to understand that under those conditions that morning, what those crew members did, nobody could have trained for. They really need to be recognized as Heroes. They were the very first First Responders.”
In 2001, Veneto was regularly assigned to United Airlines Flight 175 out of Boston. On September 11, he was not among those assigned to that Tuesday morning flight.
“I knew that crew because we worked together,” Veneto told Newsweek. “My phone started buzzing with people calling me. My family didn’t know if I was on the plane or not. It was surreal, like an out-of-body experience. I was in shock. I felt alone no matter where I was.”
“That day sent me into a tailspin of opiate addiction that almost cost me my life. After almost 15 years of numbing myself, I have finally been freed from addiction since 2015. I can now give tribute to my fallen crew members.”
Veneto began training and embarked on August 21, heading across Eastern and Southwestern Connecticut. He started with a pause at Logan Airport’s 9/11 Memorial, which bears the names of those who died on the two planes that left Boston and crashed into the World Trade Center.
“On top of the cart I have a photo of the United Airlines flight attendants from both planes. On the sides, I have the names and details of all four flights that day.”
“I made a promise to myself five days after 9/11 — I would make sure they weren’t forgotten. I’m now doing what I promised, so their families can see them honored for what they accomplished. I’m doing what they would have done for me.”
THE 9/11 MEMORIAL STAIR CLIMB
The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb honors FDNY firefighters by climbing or walking the equivalent of the World Trade Center’s 110 stories. Over the past two decades, hundreds of these events have taken place across the country, with thousands of participants completing that symbolic journey.
Each climb remembers the sacrifice of a fallen FDNY brother and symbolically completes their heroic mission to save others. These events support the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s programs for fire service survivors — including the families of the 343 firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice on September 11, 2001.
TUNNEL TO TOWERS
Frank Siller remembers those early days clearly. “We were all walking. Getting through those days in the beginning was just unbearable.” For twenty years, he has kept putting one foot in front of the other. But this year, he wanted to do something truly special.
“Because it was the 20th anniversary, I wanted to do something unique in honor of my brother and all those who perished.”
As chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, Frank has kept his brother Stephen’s memory alive. Stephen Siller had just finished his shift at a Brooklyn firehouse when the first plane hit. He drove toward Manhattan, and when the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel closed to traffic, he strapped on 60 pounds of gear and ran through it to the Twin Towers. He was among the 343 firefighters killed when the towers collapsed.
“He came out of the tunnel, saw two buildings on fire, and ran in — we believe into the South Tower. While saving lives, he gave up his own,” Frank said.
That sacrifice inspired the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which builds custom smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and pays off the mortgages of first responders killed in the line of duty.
To mark the 20th anniversary, Frank walked from the Pentagon to Shanksville to Ground Zero — three places of immense loss. The Never Forget Walk raised money and awareness along the way.
“Part of this journey is so young parents talk to their kids about what happened. We’re going to shine a big light on that day. We don’t want it to happen again.”
Frank walked 550 miles through six states, with parades and ceremonies at several stops. Different people joined him almost every day.
“A few days I walked alone, which I loved — it gave me time to reflect and think about my brother. It’s been a deeply spiritual journey.”
Tunnel to Towers is rooted in the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi: “Brothers and sisters, while we have time, let us do good.” The foundation plans to deliver 200 mortgage-free homes this year — and has pledged to care for every fallen officer’s, firefighter’s, or service member’s young family going forward.
The Never Forget Walk brought Frank to the 9/11 Memorial on the exact anniversary, surrounded by his children, grandchildren, wife, siblings, and Stephen’s own children. “It’s going to be a very impactful walk the last day or two, for sure.”
OTHER MEMORIAL WALKS
Google 9/11 walks, and you may be surprised to find how many people have turned to walks to remember the lives lost on 9/11.
And, as each of us walks today, let us hold in our hearts all those whose lives were lost or forever changed on 9/11.
