'Never Forget Walk' continues path to Ground Zero to mark 20th anniversary of 9/11
NEW YORK - Frank Siller took to the streets of Morristown, New Jersey with his entourage of family, friends, and first responders; including forty New York firefighters.
The somber procession and ceremony that followed were hosted by Siller's charity, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
"The patriotism is just oozing out of everybody and people don’t want to forget what happened twenty years ago," Siller told FOX 5 NY.
Morristown is just one of many stops on Siller's "Never Forget Walk," taking him through six states in six weeks.
"All I had to do was figure out that I had to go to the three places: The Pentagon, then to Shanksville, and to Ground Zero. The three places that lost so many lives on 9/11," he added.
RELATED: Never forget: A timeline of the events of September 11, 2001
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was founded by Siller in honor of his late brother Stephen, an off-duty firefighter who raced, on foot, through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to save others.
"I’m thinking of all those lives lost at the Pentagon, I'm thinking of my brother, running through that tunnel, I’m thinking of all the firefighters who ran up those stairs!"
The non-profit covers the mortgages of veterans, first responders, and the families of heroes who are killed in the line of duty.
"I’ve become family with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and our lives have changed in a good way," says Irene Sullivan, whose husband, FDNY Lt. Brian Sullivan, died after fighting a Bronx apartment fire in August of 2019.
As John LaBarbera, retired FDNY Battalion Chief, said, it also aims to teach younger generations about the 9/11 attacks.
"I feel that it’s not being taught enough in the schools so it’s up to us to make sure that people know the story, know the sacrifices, and never forget," he explained.
Morristown is home to the fifth parade of the Tunnel to Towers walk and the final stop before Frank Siller makes his way to New York City.
On September 11th, his 525-mile journey will end at the very site where the World Trade Center once stood.
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