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NEWS
IN WEST SENECA FIRE DISTRICT 2 |
September 25,
2011
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Tunnel
to Towers Run - About 30,000 runners, including four officers of Union Fire Company, made
their way through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel on Sunday, September 25, 2011
in honor of a city firefighter killed on September 11th. The 10th annual
Tunnel To Towers run and walk followed the footsteps of Stephen Siller, who
ran through the tunnel wearing 75 pounds of firefighter's gear to get to the "I'm sure
that they are a great encouragement for the people who have done this year by
year," said Giuliani, who attended this year's run. "I mean, for a
number of years, this was just a big hole and a big excavation project and
now all of a sudden they can see something being built, and next year there's
going to be even more. So I think that sends a sense of hope too." Among Sunday's
participants was former Marine Sergeant Dakota Meyer, who was awarded the
Medal of Honor earlier this month. Military service members, Unions contingent consisted of Chief Jeff Warner, Assistant Chief When the runners
emerged from the tunnel, they were greeted by a line of firefighters holding
portraits of the 343 members of the New York City Fire Department who died on
September 11th. "This was an
emergency. [Siller] didn't care what was going on, he went right in there and
did his job. I gotta praise him for that, he's a real hero," said one
uniformed fireman who participated. "It's a challenge to run this race,
but we do this to honor our brothers, the other folks who died on 9/11 and
all the military people who have died since then. It's all about them,"
said another participating firefighter. "Self-sacrifice.
It's all about self-sacrifice in my mind," said a Marine who took part
in the event. Also running in
uniform was Siller's widow, Sarah, who wore her husband's turnout coat.
"When I took the jacket out of the closet for the first time, it still
smelled like smoke, so it was emotional," said Sarah Siller. "For
me, this is a bond between between Stephen and I that I get to have to
myself, to pass in his his footsteps wearing his turnout jacket." Even those who did
not have gear carried the memory of September 11th with them. Teacher Richard
Mansfield held his young son Brian in his arms for most of the walk and said
he was proud to have shared this moment with him. "Just the pride of Money raised by
the Tunnel To Towers race has been used to help burn victims, wounded
veterans and children of who lost a parent in the combat in |
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