Under Grey Skies, A Relic Of Terror Shines The Light Of Forgotten Hope On A Storied Hudson Valley Campus

WEST POINT, NY — The massive hunk of steel that arrived at West Point under police escort is so much more than just a relic of a dark day.

The thing about relics and icons is they are just ordinary everyday objects — until they are imbued with a special meaning.

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In the case of a 16,900 pound steel beam recovered from the South Tower at Ground Zero, the massive piece of rubble was consecrated with the eyes of the entire world watching. Still, the beam remained a just an obstacle to be cleared in a race to rescue, and offer dignity to the victims of the single worst act of terror in modern history. The significance of this particular artifact born of destruction be would only be fully realized in years and decades that followed.

Tunnel to Towers Chairman Frank Siller said the tons of now ruined steel has a purpose now that was inconceivable in the hours after the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center.

"One of the first things we committed to and promised, and we promise to do forever, is to honor the sacrifice, but to never forget," Siller said. "And this is the way you never forget — by bringing things like this around the country."

Siller's brother, FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, was 34 when he was killed responding to Ground Zero on 9/11. His remains were never recovered.

Siller said that the steel beam and the debris that will forever remain a part of it, is something of a final resting place for those whose bodies were lost in the crucible of Ground Zero.

If the primary mission of the "Steel Across America" tour can be summed up in two words, "never forget," then that mission has been accomplished hundreds of times over again. The visitors who physically place their hands on a remnant of moment in history that changed everything will certainly never forget.

In the Hudson Valley, more than most places, the losses of Sept. 11, 2001 can be counted in loved ones and neighbors who never came home, but there is one aspect of that day that a truck carrying a twisted section of steel brought to life agin from the corners of our collective memories: What is easily among out nation's darkest hours was also one of our proudest moments.

Perhaps it was the attention line of law enforcement and fire fighters, whose duty wouldn't allow them to acknowledge the driving rain as they saluted the arrival of the vestige of the Twin Towers. More likely, it was small talk after the formal honors as the first responders shared moments among themselves from the days nearly 25 years ago that defined what it means to sacrifice for your fellow man.

Those gathered in their dress uniforms are the women and men who would, and do, at moment's notice, and without hesitation, put their own lives on the line for strangers.

It has been nearly a quarter century since the terror attacks of 9/11, and the damage is still being counted to this day. People are still dying and suffering from an act of evil that took place decades ago. But the aid, support, resolve and action that started seconds after the first plane crashed into a skyscraper also continue to this day.

There might not be a more fitting stop in the Hudson Valley for the nationwide Steel Across America tour than West Point Military Academy. The college founded in 1802 has roots that trace back to the Revolutionary War, making the institution both a symbol of our country's resilience, and a perfect place highlight the generosity and selflessness that grew from moments of terror.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation's Gold Star Family Home Program honors the legacy of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country by providing mortgage-free homes to surviving Gold Star spouses with young children. To date the program has provide homes for 23 Gold Star families in New York alone. That is in addition to 93 mortgage-free homes for New York fallen first responder families.

The organization's Homeless Veterans Program has provided housing assistance and services to more than 20,000.

This remarkable work stemmed from a final gesture on a fateful September day when Stephen Gerard Siller, a firefighter assigned to Brooklyn's Squad 1, who had just finished his shift and was on his way to play golf with his brothers when he got word over his scanner of a plane hitting the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Siller called his wife and asked her to tell his brothers he would catch up with them later. He returned to the firehouse to get his gear, but the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, had already been closed.

Determined to carry out his duty, he strapped 60 pounds of gear to his back, raced on foot through the tunnel to the Twin Towers, where he gave up his life while saving others.

His death led to the namesake "Tunnel to Towers," and movement that has helped countless families.

"Being here today, I can't tell you the emotions when we just opened it up," Frank Siller said of the gravity of the moment at West Point decades later. "I was overcome with emotion."

Most of us watched the horrors of that day 25 years ago from afar. Still, as the steel beam in the Tunnel to Towers "Steel Across America" tour makes its way back to Manhattan ahead of a milestone anniversary, forgetting the symphony of sacrifice and loss seems an impossibility.

But, "Never Forget" also means remembering the bravery, compassion and unity that was born in a moment of crisis and thrives all these years later.

That's a reminder we could all use.