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On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Stephen Siller had just finished his shift as a New York City firefighter with Brooklyn’s Squad 1 and was heading home when he heard that an airplane had hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He returned to Squad 1, gathered up his gear, and drove his pickup truck to the entrance of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.
The roadway was closed by police, but Siller was determined to fulfill his duty as a firefighter. He strapped 60 pounds of his gear to his back and ran for nearly 2 miles through the tunnel and over to the World Trade Center. He was last seen entering the burning South Tower.
Siller’s family vowed to keep his memory alive by continuing his life’s work of helping those in need. “Do you let the tragedy destroy you, or do you let it transform you?” his brother Frank Siller said.
The Siller family created a nonprofit that evolved into the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Frank Siller recalls his brother’s life and his work with the foundation in the beautifully sincere new book “Let Us Do Good.”
Preserving Family Values
The Siller family was a large, tight-knit Catholic clan on Staten Island. Stephen was the youngest of seven children; he was 8 years old when his father died and 10 when his mother passed away. His siblings raised him. Frank Siller remembers that their preoccupation with caring for their young brother calmed much of the grief they endured in the loss of their parents.
The attention that Stephen’s siblings devoted to him as a child was paid forward in his adulthood. The author recalls him as being an extraordinarily devoted brother and uncle, and later as a loving husband and a father to five children.
He was also dedicated to his “second set of brothers” in his fire department battalion. The author believes Stephen was working alongside his firefighter colleagues in the South Tower when the building collapsed.
Continuing a Legacy
Three months after Stephen’s death, the author set up a nonprofit foundation to honor his brother. It was originally called The Stephen Siller FDNY Let Us Do Good Children’s Foundation. The organization was conceived to provide scholarships to children of first responders who lost one or both parents.
The group’s first major fundraiser was held nearly a year after the 9/11 attacks. It featured a 5K run retracing Stephen’s heroic race through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center site. Donations to the foundation poured in from around the country. Good wishes from people who wanted to help continue the late firefighter’s altruism coupled the donations.
In 2009, the foundation’s focus shifted to a different pursuit after Frank Siller met Brendan Marrocco, a combat veteran at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Marrocco’s injuries resulted in the amputations of his arms and legs. The veteran’s determination to push forward and move on with his life inspired Siller.
Siller offered to have the foundation build Marrocco a mortgage-free home with advanced technology to accommodate his new daily challenges. This was achieved with the support of many like-minded individuals who were touched by Marrocco’s spirit and strength.
The Marrocco home project became the first of many similar initiatives for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Siller details multiple case studies of grievously injured veterans who received mortgage-free “smart homes” from the nonprofit. The foundation soon expanded its focus to help the families of first responders killed in the line of duty.
Some Famous Names
Perhaps the most recognizable recipient of the foundation’s generosity is former U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Johnny “Joey” Jones. Jones lost both legs above the knee during an enemy attack in Afghanistan in 2010.
After receiving a smart home from Siller’s group, Jones began working in broadcasting and gained prominence as a commentator on Fox News. He is now one of the foundation’s prominent supporters and fundraisers.
Siller also cites his encounters with high-profile personalities who have supported his efforts. These include Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump; the book doesn’t mention if he interacted with the Obama or Biden administrations.
Many celebrities have joined Siller’s cause, including actors Mark Wahlberg, Kevin James, Sylvester Stallone, and Dennis Quaid. The singers Carrie Underwood and Jelly Roll, sports media mogul Dave Portnoy, and golfers Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus also receive mention in the book for their input.
While the foundation’s goals were generous, the stress of meeting objectives was tremendous. Siller’s labors took a great toll on his health, culminating in a 2020 heart attack. He cited the “overwhelming sense of unfinished business” that forced him to speed up his recovery.
“Let us do good,” he writes. “Not just with words, but with actions. Not just today, but for as long as there are heroes willing to sacrifice everything for us. This is our sacred promise.”
Siller’s book is warm, touching and motivating. Any reader who is not moved by Siller’s life story must have a stone for a heart.
‘Let Us Do Good: My Brother Stephen, 9/11, and the Mission to Honor America’s Heroes’
By Frank Siller
Broadside Books: Sept. 1, 2026
Hardcover, 304 pages
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