Raleigh will be the host of the 2013 Tunnel to Towers Triangle 3-Mile Run/Walk on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 9 a.m. (tentatively) at the PNC Arena.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s 5k run events across the country honor everyday community heroes such as firefighters, law-enforcement officers and first responders as well as the men and women in our military.
With a mission of “Let Us Do Good,” the Tunnel to Towers Foundation honors the service and sacrifice of Stephen Siller, a FDNY Squad 1 firefighter. Having just finished his shift, Siller was headed home on Sept. 11, 2001, to his wife and five young children when he heard the call to duty from his truck’s fire scanner. Heeding that call, Siller turned his truck around, headed back to his firehouse to get his gear and then drove to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in an effort to reach Manhattan and the World Trade Center.
Siller’s determination to serve and save with his firefighting brethren was undeterred by the blockage of the tunnel: He strapped on his 60-pound pack and ran the nearly 2-mile tunnel in order to report in to his commanders at the WTC. Siller, like 342 other FDNY firefighters, heroically sacrificed his life that day in order to fulfill his commitment to serve and save all those caught in the attack.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s charitable endeavors include Building for America’s Bravest, a partnership with the Gary Sinise Foundation, a program that builds smart homes for triple- and quadruple-amputee veterans of the war in Afghanistan. These technologically advanced homes are designed and built specifically for each wounded veteran’s needs, thus allowing them to live in the freedom they deserve, the same freedom they protected for each of us.
The proceeds of this event will fund the building of two smart homes in North Carolina for two triple-amputee veterans, retired Master Sgt. John Masson and Staff Sgt. Thomas McRae. Groundbreaking ceremonies are intended for this year. To register, go to www.t2trun.org/thetriangle.
