On one of the darkest days in America’s history, New York City firefighter Stephen Siller strapped on his gear and ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the collapsing Twin Towers, ultimately giving his life to save those caught in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Two and a half decades later, Tunnel to Towers, founded by Siller’s family, has continued his legacy through its commitment to «do good» for veterans and first responders and their families across the country.

Since its founding, inspired by Siller and his favorite quote, «While we have time, let us do good,» Tunnel to Towers has provided more than 1,700 mortgage-free homes to the families of fallen service members and first responders, as well as to disabled veterans and first responders. The organization has also delivered housing assistance and support services to more than 20,000 homeless veterans and holds hundreds of events nationwide to honor America’s heroes and preserve the memory of those who lost their lives for future generations.

Tunnel to Towers CEO Frank Siller, the brother of the 34-year-old firefighter who gave his life on Sept. 11, previously warned in 2020 that America was «very close to forgetting the impact 9/11 had on our nation.» Now, with anti-American sentiment on the rise and some online commentators belittling the Sept. 11 attacks or even justifying them, many worry the legacy of those who lost their lives, including the 343 members of the New York City Fire Department who made the ultimate sacrifice, will be forgotten.

Siller, however, has vowed that «Tunnel to Towers will never let that happen.»

9/11 IS BECOMING HISTORY. MY GENERATION MUST MAKE SURE AMERICA NEVER FORGETS

The Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Institute has helped to educate students from kindergarten through 12th grade on the «extraordinary heroism and goodness of everyday people» on Sept. 11, «while demonstrating the strength and resilience of America’s spirit.» Its mobile 9/11 exhibit has traveled to nearly all 50 states as well as Canada.

This year, Tunnel to Towers launched its «Steel Across America» display, in which a 16,000-pound steel beam pulled from the wreckage of the World Trade Center traveled more than 10,500 miles to 35 stops across 21 states and the District of Columbia, culminating in New York City.

NEW 9/11 MUSEUM EXHIBIT AIMS TO CONNECT YOUNGER AMERICANS TO THE ATTACKS THROUGH POWERFUL ARTIFACTS

Frank Siller, CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, stands near a piece of World Trade Center steel that will be featured during the foundation’s effort to honor and remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks as the 25th anniversary approaches. (Courtesy: Tunnel to Towers Foundation)

To mark the 25th anniversary, Tunnel to Towers also launched its 343 Homes Initiative this year to honor the 343 New York firefighters who died on Sept. 11. According to the group, this initiative will deliver 343 mortgage-free homes to the families of fallen service members and fallen first responders as well as to catastrophically injured service members across the country.

This initiative builds on Tunnel to Towers’ «In the Line of Duty Programs,» which have provided more than 1,700 mortgage-free homes to the families of fallen service members and first responders, as well as to catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. More than 220 of those homes have been custom «Smart Homes,» modified to be fully accessible to catastrophically injured veterans and first responders.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

A firefighter walks through the rubble of the twin towers of the World Trade Center as an American flag hangs from a traffic light post on September 11, 2001, in New York. (DOUG KANTER/AFP via Getty Images)

In a recent Fox News opinion piece, Siller put it simply: «Stephen’s life and heroic death serve as a reminder to us all to live life to the fullest and to spend our time here on earth doing good—this is his legacy.»

DALLAS, Texas – A year after the shocking assassination of conservative titan and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Republicans gathered at the GOP’s midterm convention shared the profound ways in which the young leader and family man impacted their lives.

«Charlie Kirk is a wonderful man, and he is very much missed,» Marsha Landry of Texas told Fox News Digital during an interview at the American Airlines Center, where the Republican Party is rallying to try to keep control of the House and Senate in November. «He was making a lot of progress in this country, especially among the youth. I know personally some of our children have really started paying attention.»

Jacquez Jones, a young convention attendee, said Kirk’s legacy lives on.

REMEMBERING CHARLIE KIRK: TURNING POINT USA’S ANDREW KOLVET REFLECTS ON CONSERVATIVE GROUP’S CHALLENGING YEAR

«It’s a daily reminder that we have to have courage to go out there and spread the message, not only of just conservatism, but our faith as well,» he said. «And so on this anniversary, I look back at not only what Charlie Kirk was able to accomplish, but the things that even in his passing he’s still able to do.»

On this day last year, Kirk, 31, was speaking at Turning Point’s «American Comeback Tour» event at the Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah, just after noon, when he was shot in the neck. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly thereafter.

The suspect in the killing, then-22-year-old Tyler Robinson, is accused of firing one shot from a rooftop overlooking the quad where Kirk was speaking. A shocked crowd scattered as Kirk was rushed away from the scene.

Kirk, who was a father, left behind his wife Erika and two young children.

ERIKA KIRK REFLECTS ON FIRST YEAR OF GRIEF AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION IN NYT ESSAY

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk is pictured with his wife Erika Kirk on stage at an event earlier this year in Phoenix. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

«I think it’s an extremely somber reminder of what we have in this country, that free speech is not free, that somebody died for that right, and Charlie Kirk [was] somebody who was brave enough to go out there on the college campuses and talk about conservatism and prove to the American people and the young generation that the conservative policies still work,» Jones said.

Another Republican convention-goer, Mike Hurst of Mississippi, described what he remembers after first hearing the news that Kirk had been killed.

«It was one of the most gut-wrenching feelings I’ve ever seen, and of course, I went online, I saw the video, and to this day I’m still shocked that that could happen in our country,» Hurst said, adding that we need more people like Kirk who encourage civil dialogue instead of political violence.

ACCUSED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN ALLEGEDLY CONFESSED IN TEXTS, APOLOGIZED AND DESCRIBED MOTIVE, AGENT TESTIFIES

Robinson allegedly fled the rooftop, ditched his rifle in a wooded area across the street from the UVU campus, and fled the scene. A statewide manhunt persisted until the following night at around 10 p.m. when Robinson surrendered to authorities in St. George, Utah, about four hours south of the UVU campus.

The American Airlines Center, as preparations are underway for the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas, on September 7, 2026. (Jessica Koscielniak, Reuters)

His parents reportedly convinced him to turn himself in.

Pre-trial proceedings in Robinson’s case are ongoing after a protracted battle regarding media access to the courtroom, and motions attempting to remove the death penalty as a possible sentence should Robinson be convicted.

Alex Stone of Missouri said young people are looking for a leader to fill Kirk’s shoes, though his memory remains.

«Since Charlie’s assassination, people have been lost,» he said. «People have been looking for a voice or a leader to lead them in the right direction, and so we need people who are going to stand up and rise up and say, ‘this is what is good, this is what is true, this what is beautiful.’ And ‘this is wrong, and here’s what we should do in the face of it.’»