Americans nationwide on Wednesday marked 18 years since the September 11 terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City and Washington, D.C.
For many New Yorkers, the day is a solemn reminder of the need to honor and support first responders — especially those like Frank Siller, who is the chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a non-profit that supports fallen and injured servicemembers, first responders, and their families.
The organization was founded in honor of Siller's brother, Stephen Siller, a New York City firefighter that died on 9/11. The younger Siller brother had, in fact, finished his shift with the FDNY's Brooklyn Squad 1 when a hijacked American Airlines flight hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. Stephen returned to his station to get his 60-pound gear and walked through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to assist in the response.
"We needed to honor that sacrifice so we started the foundation," said Siller.
Tunnel to Towers Foundation has launched several initiatives to honor the lives lost on 9/11. In 2013, the organization launched the 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit, a 53-foot trailer exhibition that has traveled across the nation to educate and remind Americans about the sacrifices made 18 years ago.
The foundation also organizes a run through Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel to raise money for the foundation. Participants include thousands of first responders from across the country, many of whom run in full gear to honor their fallen colleagues.
"It is the least that we can do as a country to take care of these great heroes that are willing to die for you and me every single day, so we better make sure that we are there for them," Siller said.
A total of 343 New York City firefighters died on 9/11.
Rudy Giuliani, who was the mayor of New York on 9/11, also honored the FDNY on Wednesday, saying on Twitter that "the burden of the losses and the full weight of the very dangerous rescue, then recovery, mission fell to the FDNY … They conducted themselves as heroes and patriots."
The September 11 attack, moreover, has continued to take the lives of firefighters that were on the ground that day. Last week, the FDNY added 22 more names to the department's World Trade Center Memorial Wall, which features a list of firefighters who have died from illnesses related to their work on 9/11 and in the days, weeks, and months after the attacks.
"This solemn wall is a poignant and permanent reminder of the sacrifice of all that responded on September 11th and toiled for weeks and months at the World Trade Center searching for the innocent lives taken that day," Daniel A. Nigro, the FDNY's Commissioner, said in a statement.
Over 200 firefighters in total have died due to 9/11 related illnesses, according to the FDNY.
