Brother of 9/11 victim walks through Berks to raise money for victims’ families
A six-week trek takes the Staten Island man through Hamburg
When New York fireman Stephen Stiller’s family realized that he had died following the Sept. 11 attacks as he tried to save others caught in the twin towers, they made a decision.
While Stephen’s death left a hole in the family that can never be filled, they vowed to keep living their best lives because that’s what Stephen would have wanted, his older brother Frank said.
“We wanted to honor him. We weren’t just going to roll over,” he said.
Part of that promise was to start the Tunnels to Towers Foundation, which helps veterans and first responders who are badly hurt during their service, and assist the families of those who are killed.
And as the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, Frank is walking from the Pentagon to the World Trade Center site, raising money for the cause, a trek that brought him to Hamburg on Thursday, Aug. 27.
The 68-year-old from Staten Island began the 537-mile journey in Washington on Aug. 1 and will finish Sept. 11.
He often walks 13 to 15 miles per day, starting around sunrise to avoid the summer heat.
He trained for about 18 months to get in shape for the walk, but joked that he hadn’t known quite how many mountains he’d have to walk up in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.
He said he wasn’t complaining, though.
“It’s beautiful,” he said. Even more attractive to Frank than the landscapes has been the reaction of so many who have approached him as he walked, with two RVs carrying his support team following him.
“I’ve met so many great Americans that realize we have to take care of the families of our heroes,” he said.
Money raised by his Never Forget Walk will benefit three charities supported by the foundation Frank leads:
• The Gold Star Family Home Program, which provides mortgage-free homes to surviving spouses of military members killed in action who have young children.
• The Fallen First Responder Home Program, which pays off the mortgages of fallen law enforcement officers and firefighters who lose their lives in the line of duty, or to 9/11 related illness, and leave behind young children.
• The Smart Home Program, which builds mortgage-free smart homes for the country’s most catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. Each home is designed to address the unique needs of each individual.
The inspiration to support those causes came from Stephen, Frank said. Stephen, 34, had just finished his shift and was driving home when the attacks occurred, but headed back to the World Trade Center , to help.
His body was never recovered, but Frank believes his brother died in the collapse of the south tower.
Frank said he and his foundation are also motivated by all those who acted just as heroically after the terrorists struck, whether it was at ground zero, the Pentagon, on Flight 93, or those who have been deployed since then, he said.
After passing through Berks County on Thursday, Frank continued toward Hershey for a parade today as he makes his way to New York.
“There I’m going to trace my brother’s final heroic footsteps,” he said.
And while the walk is designed to raise money to assist deserving families, Frank hopes it also reminds many what happened on that tragic day almost 20 years ago, and has happened since. It’s especially important for young people who don’t have memories of Sept. 11 to realize its significance, and the heavy price that many Americans paid.
“It (his brother’s death) is just as raw for me now as it was then,” he said. “You don’t get over it. You just learn to live with it.”
The solidarity with others who lost loved ones on Sept. 11 has helped, though, he said.
During his walk he stopped at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, where he and a group of NYC firefighters put their hands on the boulder near the plane’s crash site as they shared a tear-filled prayer.
“It was a moment I’ll never forget,” he said.
Frank feels his brother is watching over him and his crew, and is proud of what they’re doing.
“I think he’d have made the same choice,” he said.