Like a lot of folks on the west coast, my family was awakened on the morning of September 11, 2001 to television images we never believed we would see on American soil. I remember telling my daughter to remember it as the day our world changed forever.
Three thousand miles east, where the cameras were pointed, Brooklyn firefighter Stephen Siller had just gotten off duty and was on his way to play golf when he heard that a plane had hit the North Tower. Telling his friends he would catch up with them on the golf course, he turned his truck around and headed toward Manhattan. Finding the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel closed to traffic, he hoisted his sixty pounds of gear and started running through the almost two miles of tunnel to help rescue employees trapped at the World Trade Center.
Fire Captain Billy Burke was already at Ground Zero. He had just learned that the South Tower had fallen. Climbing the stairs in the north tower, he ignored the thought that must have been going through his head, urging his men to keep climbing. “I’m right behind you,” he assured them.
Most of us have moved on with our lives since 9/11, with increased security the only constant reminder of the day our world changed forever. Those who lost loved ones must surely see them more often: empty chairs, treasured photographs, ordinary belongings now considered keepsakes. The families of Stephen Siller and Billy Burke, like countless others, turned grief into cause with the Stephen Siller Tunnel To Towers Foundation and the Captain Billy Burke Foundation.
On May 17, 2015, these foundations will combine their efforts to help another group of heroes—United States military veterans—with the first-ever Tower Climb at One World Trade Center. Climbers will go to the 90th floor, taking 180 flights of stairs on the way. There's also a "virtual stair climb" — using elevators — for people who want to participate but are not able to handle the stairs. Participation is limited to the first 1,000 people to register. Registration will close on Sunday, May 10, or when capacity is reached.
WTC 1 opened last November after disputes between the Port Authority and developer caused construction scheduling delays. The Tower Climb benefit will be the first of its kind in the new building.
