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Heroes Walk Among Us

Shana Pearlman tells how a fallen New York firefighter's family commemorate his death each year.

By Shana Pearlman

9 Sep 2011, 23:00

The morning of September 11, 2001, dawned bright and clear – “extreme clear,” the pilots and meteorologists call it. Stephen Siller, a New York City firefighter, had just gotten off the late shift at Squad 1, Park Slope, Brooklyn, and was headed to play golf with his brothers. Suddenly he heard on his scanner that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers.  He called his wife Sally, and told her he’d be late coming home because he had to help others in need.  Stephen turned his truck around to try to get through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, but by the time he got there, it was already closed to traffic.  So he strapped on 60 pounds of gear and ran through the tunnel, hoping to meet up with his guys in Squad 1. He ran the 1.7 miles into lower Manhattan, where he was picked up by another crew responding to the alert.  Stephen Siller was one of the 343 members of the Fire Department of New York who died that day, rushing into the Twin Towers, trying to save others' lives.

I first heard Stephen’s story when I was starting my career in radio production in Washington DC, and met Russ Hodge, a veteran television producer who had put together a documentary about Stephen and his family, called For the Love of Their Brother.  This was a story close to Russ’ heart, because Stephen was his cousin.

“I must have close to 30 cousins on my mother’s side of the family,” Russ says.  “I was the second youngest and Stephen was the youngest.  I knew him but I didn’t know him – his parents died when he was 10 so he was raised by his brothers and sisters.  He moved out to Long Island, whereas I stayed on Staten Island.”

Stephen’s six brothers and sisters were devastated by his loss.  Not only was he their brother, but because they’d raised him, the baby of the family, they had lost a son, too.  Russ says, “His brothers and sisters could have become so angry. After all, what happened was horribly unfair.  But instead they decided to make a difference in people’s lives – and they’ve helped so many people.”

The Siller family decided to hold a charity run – but not just any run, because, as Stephen’s family has noted, there are lots of charity runs out there. The Tunnel to Towers run retraces Stephen’s steps from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to Ground Zero. Russ says, “it’s not about competition, or who can win or who runs the fastest.  It’s about feeling good about humanity.  You can’t help but love it.  And there’s a real beauty to it too, because as you finish the race, you literally see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

It’s often said that there were two September 11ths: the one that so many of us saw on TV, and the other, more personal one, that affected New Yorkers particularly acutely.  Russ concurs: “A disproportionate number of people from Staten Island died that day, because they were all cops, or firemen, or worked in Lower Manhattan.  Every time I go on the run I see pictures of people that I played basketball with, or ran against in high school. I really see how it has affected us all.”

The first year of the Tunnel to Towers run was almost a year to the day after September 11. Because Russ had a media background, he was asked to MC the event, which he has done every year since.  “As a television producer,” he told me, “I’m always looking for good stories.  And there I was, looking out over this sea of humanity, and thinking, this is the best story I know.  Because this is about six people who love this guy. They could have become bitter human beings. But they decided to fight terrorism with love.  And they don’t have any political power or influence, but they managed to get Lower Manhattan closed every year for the run. Do you know how hard that is? New Yorkers can’t even agree on toppings for a pizza, but they’ve managed to get the cops, the Port Authority, the City of New York, the sanitation department, everybody to pitch in and celebrate.

“Look,” Russ continues, “I’m a TV producer.  I understand anniversaries. I know what all the media coverage is doing.  But I like when the media focuses on stories that counter what September 11th is “supposed” to be about.  It’s “supposed” to be about terrorism, but September 11th actually is about is how good people can be when the chips are down. I like it when the media focuses on the heroic deeds, like Stephen and the 342 other people who ran into the Towers, probably knowing full well they would never come out again.

When faced with your worst nightmare, how will you react? None of us really know.  But I always say that Stephen’s brothers and sisters are heroes too. They relive that horrible experience every year but they’ve made such a difference in so many people’s lives. Heroes walk among us.”

The Stephen Siller Foundation has raised 10 million dollars.  The money has gone to burn units in hospitals, military welfare organizations, and firemen’s organizations. They’ve helped build a new foundling home in New York for orphaned children.  And they’ve begun building houses for soldiers who have been wounded in Iraq.

There are 30-35 sister runs all over the world, including in Afghanistan, where Afghan citizens took part.  In the New York run every year, about 100 London firefighters take part.  As Russ points out, “First responders all over the world share a bond.”

When I think about September 11, 2001, I like to think of the smiling face of Stephen Siller, the man who raced almost two miles with 60 pounds on his back, all to get people in need to safety.  I also like to think of Stephen’s family, who could have become consumed with rage and hate, but instead, like their brother, chose to help others. Russ says that the run in Stephen’s memory is an “antidote to cynicism. It’s New York at its absolute best.”  If, on this 10th anniversary of  September 11, the memories come crashing down a bit too hard, think of Stephen. Remember him.  And maybe you’d like to race from tunnel to towers like he did.  “Do the run,” says Russ, “and I know it sounds Pollyanna-ish, but you’ll be high on life.”
 
The Tunnel to Towers run takes place every year on the last Sunday in September; this year it’s on September 25th.  For more information, log on to http://tunneltotowers.org/.