On the Fourth of July a record-breaking number of visitors paid their respects at the 9/11 Memorial. Among them were members of the Gary Sinise Foundation and Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, named in honor of fallen firefighter Stephen Siller.
Siller had just gotten off the late shift at Squad 1 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, when he heard about the World Trade Center attack. With 60 pounds of gear strapped to his back, Siller ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to respond to the terror strikes.
The two charities brought together more than a dozen disabled soldiers – many of them triple or quadruple amputees – to the memorial, which has had more than 3 million visitors since opening in September. Currently, the two charities are working to provide custom-built “smart homes” for wounded veterans.
By Allyson Philobos, Communications Associate for the 9/11 Memorial