Stephen Siller Jr., son of a New York City firefighter killed on 9/11, recently concluded a four-month journey across the United States with a 16,900-pound steel beam from the World Trade Center. The "Steel Across America" campaign aimed to foster remembrance and learning about the 2001 terror attacks.
Stephen Siller Sr., a firefighter with the New York City Fire Department, died on Sept. 11, 2001, after hearing the initial scanner calls and responding to the World Trade Center. He had just finished an overnight shift and, finding his unit already en route, grabbed his gear and drove to Manhattan. When access to the city was shut down, he parked his car and ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel with approximately 60 pounds of equipment to reach the South Tower.
His son, Stephen Siller Jr., who was 9 months old at the time of the attacks, has dedicated himself to honoring those lost. The Steel Across America tour allowed the public to physically connect with a piece of history.
"The Steel Across America campaign allows the public to 'put their hand on that steel and feel the loss and sacrifice that was made that day -- the sacrifice of first responders and their loss, the loss of innocent people who just went to work,'" Stephen Siller Jr.'s uncle, Frank Siller, told ABC News. Frank Siller founded the Tunnel to Towers Foundation in honor of his brother's actions.
Siller Jr. described the tour as "incredibly powerful." He recounted an experience at ground zero where a firefighter, whose entire unit perished on 9/11, touched the beam and was visibly overcome with emotion. For Siller Jr., the steel beam represents the more than 1,000 bodies never recovered from the World Trade Center, including his father's. "Who they are is ingrained in that steel, what they did is ingrained in that steel. It holds the memory of that day," he said.
The beam's journey, which stretched from Oklahoma to California and included stops at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and the Flight 93 Memorial site, often drew large crowds. In Texarkana, Texas, approximately 1,000 people attended an event.
A particularly moving stop occurred at the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Florida, where President George W. Bush was reading to students on the morning of the attacks. Despite pouring rain, children were lifted to touch the steel and offered prayers.
"Little kids who understand that, you know, this is a sacred piece of history ... it once held up the Twin Towers, it once held floors and walls, and now it holds the gravity of that day," Siller Jr. observed.
Educating younger generations was a primary objective of the campaign. "I was 9 months old on 9/11 -- if you were born after me, and not in New York City, you know, there's a high chance that you have no real understanding of that day," Siller Jr. explained. "It's important that that lesson is taught to these kids -- there's so much to be pulled from the sacrifices made."
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which organized the tour, continues to support military members, first responders, and their families. The foundation is currently focused on providing mortgage-free, specially-adapted smart homes to wounded veterans and first responders.