TWENTY-FIVE YEARS – 9-11, CK & FRANK SILLER

When I was a young child, my parents and grandparents would commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor every December. But since that event – that attack on our homeland – happened before I was born, I never felt the same emotional connection to it as the prior generations. It got folded into the general historical WWII category of horrible events that occurred during the war years.

It’s now been 25 years since the terrorists flew two planes into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, another into the Pentagon building in DC, and, due solely to the heroics of the 40 brave passengers and crew of Flight 93, one more into the field in Shanksville, Pa. This was a direct attack on our mainland. I recall every detail of that morning in NYC and the days that followed. It is indelibly etched into my memory. Everyone I knew in NYC lost someone that they knew and loved.

Twenty-Two Years – Never Forget – The Wise Novelist

I now realize that 100-million Americans have been born since 9-11-01. A third of our existing citizenry. Unfortunately, many of that large percentage of citizens do not have the same visceral, emotional connection to the horror of that day. And that compounds the tragedy.

Last year, another national tragedy occurred with the assassination of Charlie Kirk on 9-10-25. It does not matter where your political or social leanings lie, he was a young man using the democratic process of debating the country’s most compelling issues in the public square and trying his best to make the country a better place. For that, he was murdered in front of thousands of young people and millions of television viewers.

NEVER FORGET 9-11 – RIP CHARLIE KIRK – The Wise Novelist

I’m hoping that, because of the calendar proximity, most of the 100 million citizens born after 9-11-01 will find an emotional tether between the historic terror attack and the recent CK assassination, the latter being a booster shot of horror that threatens our social fabric, because both events, separated by time and scale, represent a direct and violent assault on our democracy.

I hope we don’t require any more boosters in the future.

But since I’m discussing the topic, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there has been a lot of good snatched out of the jaws of tragedy that day. Time alone has given me perspective.

One clear example of such goodness is the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. It was founded in 2001 by Frank Siller to honor the memory of his younger brother, FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who died during the September 11 attacks. The foundation’s name commemorates Stephen Siller’s heroic run through the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers, where, like many other first responders that morning, he sacrificed his life to save others, leaving behind his young wife and kids.

Stephen’s Story – Tunnel to Towers Foundation

For twenty-five years, Frank Siller has spent his every waking moment supporting the 9-11 gold star families, the wounded veterans of the wars that followed, and the continuing tragedies befalling first responders and military personnel over the past quarter century.

As the father of two first responders, my sons (NYPD and Denver PD) who were alive to experience 9-11, and chose their life of service, in part, in response to the heroics of those men and women they knew who responded to their final call that day, I believe that Frank Siller may be the closest thing we may find to being a Saint in today’s world.

Now that assessment is not only based upon what we all have witnessed in media reports over the past twenty-five years, but also based upon my third child, my daughter Jackie’s first-hand encounter with Frank. That’s Jackie, the tall one – a D1 point guard in college, now a corporate mogul – on the right.

Jackie is an amazing judge of character – she takes after her mother – and can smell a phony a mile away.

After spending an event hanging with Frank Siller, she has confirmed that this is a man who epitomizes the words so often repeated in relation to the work he does every day.

“Let Us Do Good!”

Frank’s work has never been about him. He is truly a selfless individual.

So, if there is any justice in this world, on this 25th Anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attack, POTUS will award Frank Siller the Presidential Medal of Freedom, because I cannot fathom someone more deserving.

Presidential Medal of Freedom – Wikipedia

Okay, I’m off the soapbox.

I ask only that all five of my readers take an extra moment this morning to give your loved-ones and extra hug before you head out the door. Tell them you love them. And if it’s your spiritual inclination, say a prayer for peace in our world, and to protect the first responders heading out their respective doorways to protect and serve the rest of us. Bring them home safely at the end of their watch.

And no matter what else happens, let us make today a great one.