STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Thousands gathered at Fort Wadsworth on Saturday for the first stop of the Tunnel to Towers ‘Steel Across America’ tour, which began earlier in the day at Ground Zero.

The tour will feature as its centerpiece a steel beam recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center, which will travel in a customized tractor-trailer with fold-down sides, enabling visitors to see the relic up close and touch it.

“This steel beam represents the best of who we are as a country,” said Frank Siller, Tunnel to Towers Foundation chairman and CEO. “As it travels from coast to coast, we hope this symbol brings communities together to remember the heroes we lost, honor the people still suffering from 9/11-related illnesses, support the families forever changed, and pay tribute to those who continue to protect and serve. Together, we must never forget.”

The steel also serves as a personal reminder for Frank Siller, whose brother, FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, perished on 9/11.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and the coast-to-coast tribute will honor the lives of the first responders and civilians lost on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as those who have since succumbed to 9/11-related illnesses.

A stop on Staten Island

Following the ceremony in Lower Manhattan, the steel made its way through the Financial District and onto Brooklyn before arriving at Fort Wadsworth with a police escort, passing under a huge American flag suspended across the road by two FDNY ladder trucks.

There, the foundation hosted a kick-off barbecue featuring entertainment by the NYPD Jazz Band and games for the children.

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The Tunnel to Towers “Steel Across America” tour stops in Fort Wadsworth on Saturday, May 2, 2026.

Guests were invited to tour a mobile exhibit with artifacts from the World Trade Center, FDNY equipment and trucks, photos and voice recordings.

Emcee John LaBarbara, a retired FDNY battalion commander, opened the program by calling a ceremonial color guard composed of NYPD, FDNY, PAPD, NYSP, and the Fort Hamilton Color Guard to present the colors, followed by Firefighter Regina Wilson singing the National Anthem.

U.S. Navy Chaplain Timothy Lee was joined by FDNY Chaplain Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, who both spoke before blessing the steel.

U.S. Army Col. Paul Barnett, who had just completed boot camp when the 9/11 attacks occurred, said, “I think it’s important for the new generation to understand what happened during that time, and never forget the trials and the issues and concerns our first responders had to deal with.“

Jeanna DellaRagione, COO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, read a list of corporate sponsors, including Fox News, American Express, T-Mobile, New York Jets, NY Giants and American Airlines, and thanked them for their support

Salvatore Cassano, who served as the 32nd commissioner of the FDNY, told the audience, “On September 11th, at the World Trade Center, I personally witnessed unbelievable acts of heroism by so many of our members—members of the PD and the Port Authority.”

“Not one of them flinched when they were given orders to go into those buildings and rescue as many people as they could. Most of them knew they might not be coming home, but they followed orders as first responders do, and they paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Cassano continued, “This steel is a remembrance of what they did that day. Those acts of heroism should never be forgotten. But ‘never forget’ is only a word; it’s the actions we all take that ensure what happened almost 25 years ago is not forgotten—not just during the 25th anniversary, but every year afterward.”

Tunnel to Towers

The Tunnel to Towers organization was founded in memory of Stephen Siller, one of 343 FDNY firefighters who perished on 9/11. He lost his life after running through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel (now the Hugh Carey Tunnel) while off-duty to assist in the response.

“He did something special. He did something incredible,” said his brother Frank Siller. “He didn’t have to run through the tunnel with his gear on his back, but he did. He was faced with something — the fear that he must have had as he came out of that tunnel and headed up West Street. You see these buildings, 110 stories high, on fire, people jumping because the only choice they had was to burn or to jump. That did not stop him. He wanted to save as many lives as possible.”

Siller’s son, Stephen Jr., who lives in Westerleigh, was nine months old when he lost his dad. He said seeing the huge turnout means the world to him, “The main point of the Steel tour is to spread the knowledge of what happened that day, not the darkness of that day, not the tragedy of that day, but the beauty that was born from it.”

Siller Jr. continued, “The thousands of stories of American heroes, the endless, endless support from around the country for New York after the wake of September 11th, I think that’s what we need to focus on. That’s what we need to educate the youth about, all the great men like we have here today.”

Richard and Lois Nicotra were among those who came to show their support. “I remember that we were opening the Hilton Hotel when the World Trade Center towers came down. The World Trade Center towers came down on Tuesday, and we were opening the hotel on that Friday,” Richard Nicotra said.

“So, instead of doing weddings and parties when we opened, we were doing funerals for firefighters and others in Staten Island. I can’t believe that 25 years have gone so quickly. But what an organization—Frank Siller and this group—to keep it alive, to never forget what happened,” he added.

Borough President Vito Fossella was seen thanking firefighters and first responders for their heroic efforts that day, saying, “Once again, Tunnel to Tunnels does it right as we approach the 25th anniversary of September 11th. Staten Island will always remember the victims and heroes of that day. But others may not. This journey will connect communities in remembrance and educate new generations about resilience, service, and the enduring spirit of those who sacrificed that day.”

Open exhibitions

The steel beam will be accessible to the public via open exhibitions at national monuments, museums and memorials across the country, including at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown, Pennsylvania, the USS Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, Space Center Houston in Texas, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, South Dakota.

The Steel Across America tour will also visit Major League Baseball stadiums, including LoanDepot Park in Miami, T-Mobile Park in Seattle, and Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

The steel beam will also stop at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida. Former President George Bush was visiting the school on Sept. 11, 2001, when he first learned of the attacks.

The tour will travel more than 10,500 miles and make more than 35 stops in 21 states and Washington, D.C., visiting landmark locations, community gathering places, town squares, and major sporting events nationwide before culminating in its return to Ground Zero on the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

If you missed the tour at Fort Wadsworth, the next scheduled stop is Monday, May 4, at 11 a.m. at the LT. Michael P. Murphy Museum, in West Sayville, Long Island.