Tunnel to Towers Run

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Background:
Stephen Siller, beloved husband and father of five, was a firefighter from Squad 1, Park Slope Brooklyn. On 9/11, he was off-duty, and on his way to golf with his 3 older brothers.

When Stephen heard on his scanner that the World Trade Center had been hit, he turned his vehicle around and headed towards the site. When his truck was prohibited from entering the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, typically of him, he raced on foot towards the site with his gear strapped to his back.

He was last seen alive on West and Liberty Streets where he, more than likely, went looking for his Squad, all of whom perished. The Tunnel to Towers Run retraces Stephen's footsteps on that fateful day.

In running along his path, we honor the memory of all the Firefighters, Police, and EMS workers who performed their duty that day. In running this race, we are reclaiming still another part of the city for all our heroes and for all of those who died on 9/11.

They will never be forgotten!


I did this race today. It was a gloomy, pouring rain day. Coming out of the tunnel, the street was lined with firefighters, each holding a banner with a picture of one of their lost comrades on it. There was a long line of firefighters, stretching several blocks, each with a banner. Most of the pictures on the banner were of young people, taken in their prime. It was a very sobering tribute. to actually see each of the lost firefighters represented by a current firefighter. It really gave you an idea of how many real people were lost. At the post-race ceremonies, they rang a bell for the NYC rescue wrokers lost, for the Pentagon folks lost, for the Shanksville PA folks, lost, for our servicemen lost since. Firefighter Siller's widow and children were there, and for her to have been able to turn this tragedy around into this event is nothing short of miraculous. I only hope to have half of her strength if I am ever faced with a tragedy.

We must never forget this event. We must never let their deaths be in vain.
 
God bless you for doing this. I was thinking about it, but I'm ashamed to say I just didn't feel like going out in the drizzle. You and all the others did a beautiful thing.
 
Thank you for doing this.

We recently visited NYC and took time to visit the WTC site. It was so very sobering.

You are right. We must never forget. They are truly heros.
 
I was reading online about the race, and how the materials for this year's race burned in a truck fire yesterday (or Friday?) but how the race went on. I did not know they had firefighters holding pictures like that.

A friend of mine had discussed doing this one year; I wish I had.
 

My brother and a couple of his fellow firefighters did this run today. I wish I could have been there with him
 
We were there too!!! It was very emotional and truly amazing. We're already looking forward to next year and keeping our fingers crossed for sunshine instead of the constantly pouring rain.
 
This probably won't sound right and I probably haven't worded it very well, but my first thought when posters up-thread were describing the conditions today, all that pouring rain...

Maybe it was raining God's tears.

Thank you to everyone who participated.
agnes!
 
Thanks for doing the run. I will do it next year. I actually met Stephen a long time ago and was a student of his brother. Wonderful people.
 
Truthfully, I did not know the story or the man prior to the day of the run. A friend of ours is a NYC firefighter, and he asked us to join the run.

It was very moving.
 
I think it's wonderful that so many people are taking part in this. My first serious boyfriend and his co-workers (firefighters in Orlando) are running in this, according to his wife. (Is it weird that I've never met her, but we're FB friends? He's an ex from off and on from between ages 17 and 20, decades ago!)
 
We have done the race in the past, didn't do it this year. We lost four people in 9/11. Three FDNY. Thanks for posting and participating. "All gave some, Some gave all..." God Bless the victims and their families.
 



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