Tunnel to Towers CEO to finish 537-mile walk honoring heroes on Sept 11
Frank Siller, CEO of Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and country music singer Lee Brice discuss plans to honor the heroes who sacrificed their lives on 9/11
Dozens of members of the New York Police Department – including chiefs and the commissioner – are running to raise money to benefit families of injured or fallen first responders.
Led by Inspector Caroline Roe, at least 36 members of the NYPD are fundraising through the Tunnel 2 Towers Foundation, which was created to honor the life of Stephen Siller, a firefighter who died on Sept. 11, 2001. The officers will run in the foundation’s annual New York City 5K on Sept. 26 as part of their fundraising efforts.
Roe told Fox News she and several members of the department are working together this year to spread the word about their efforts with the hopes of raising as much money as possible for the foundation. The upcoming 20-year mark of the attacks on September 11, 2001, emphasizes the importance that people "never forget, always remember and always honor those people – those heroes."
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New York City Police Department Officer Michael Schuierer, who lined his hat with an American flag napkin after the terrorist attack, is seen on Sept. 17, 2001 in Manhattan. (Meri Simon/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)
"The police department, FD – the fire department – we all run into things that most people run from, and that's exactly what happened that day," Roe told Fox News. "You had heroes that ran in to help in any way, shape or form, not thinking about their loved ones, not thinking about themselves personally. Just trying to go in there and make a difference, help one person. And that's what they did. And they died doing what they were born to do and love to do."
The 9/11 attacks claimed the lives of 2,977 victims, including 343 FDNY firefighters, 23 members of the NYPD and 37 Port Authority police officers.
The New York City Tunnel 2 Towers 5K Run & Walk, "symbolizes Stephen Siller’s final footsteps from the foot of the Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers and pays homage to the 343 FDNY firefighters, 71 law enforcement officers, and thousands of civilians who lost their lives on September 11, 2001," the foundation's website states.
The NYPD's team of runners includes Commissioner Dermot Shea, Chief of Department Rodney Harrison – the highest-ranking uniformed member – and Chief of Counterterrorism Martine Materasso, among several others.
NYPD Chief of Counterterrorism Martine Materasso near One World Trade Center in New York City. (Photo courtesy Lt. Emmanuel Kwo)
Materasso, the first female to be promoted to the role of chief of counterterrorism, typically runs four days a week, partly in preparation for the upcoming 5K event, she told Fox News.
She emphasized the importance of people remembering the "sacrifice of the fallen."
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It is "so important," Materasso said, "to keep their memory alive, as well as let the families know that their loved ones' sacrifice is still remembered and means so much to all of us."
Many members, including Roe and Materasso, will even be running in full uniform.
"I’ve run for two years with [a] full uniform and a blue-line flag just to bring honor and attention to those who passed away. And this will be the third year I’m going to run in uniform," Roe said.
Speaking about her decision to run in full uniform and carrying the flag, Roe said doing so "brings attention to what we really stand for." She explained that the flag has been a "great conversation piece" — a way for her to explain her mission and her efforts in supporting first responders.
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Roe recalled explaining to someone once that the flag "represents every single law enforcement or emergency personnel, or police department personnel that lost their lives in the line of duty."
She added: "I use it as a way to acknowledge and honor the people that have passed away."
Any person interested in donating to the team's efforts can do so on the Tunnel 2 Towers Foundation's fundraising website.
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