25 Years After 9/11: Honoring Service and the Meaning of Home

A Quarter Century of Remembering

The Stephen Siller Tunnels to Towers Foundation has called this year its most comprehensive commemoration in its 25-year history. Its mission began with one firefighter, Stephen Siller, who ran through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers on September ​11, ​2001,and gave his life saving others. Every year since, the foundation has turned that act of love into homes for heroes.

I did not serve on that day in the way first responders did,but as a member of the U.S. Army,I understood thenand I understand now what it means to answer the call. On September ​11, ​2001, every American became each other's neighbor. That spirit is what I try to carry into real estate every day:service before self, communication matters, and a home is more than an address.

Steel Across America: The Beam Comes Home

One of the most moving tributes this anniversary is the Steel Across America tour. An authentic 16,000-pound, 21-foot steel beam from the World Trade Center South Tower has been traveling more than10,500 miles, making over35 stops in more than20 states and Washington, D.C. It launched on May ​2 near Ground Zero,and it is designed to return to Ground Zero for the anniversary itself.

The beam stopped here in Southern California this summer, at the West Los Angeles Veterans Campus, where it met veterans who receive housing and services through the very organizations that carry this mission forward. For me, seeing that steel up close was not about reliving tragedy. It was about proof that we keep the promise:we do not forget.

343 Homes: A Living Memorial

Alongside the steel tour, the Foundation has been delivering 343 mortgage-free homes throughout2026 as part of its 25th anniversary commemoration called "343 Homes: A Living Memorial." Each Smart Home goes to a catastrophically injured veteran or first responder, a Gold Star family,or the family of a fallen first responder. Every home is mortgage-free,and every home is adapted to the needs of the hero and family who live there.

The number343 is not random. It is the number of firefighters who died responding to the World Trade Center on September ​11, ​2001. Turning that number into homes for the living is one of the most powerful memorials I have ever seen. It says the very thing every veteran and every family deserves to hear:we have not forgotten you.

How You Can Take Part This Month

The centerpiece of the anniversary month is the 25th Tunnel to Towers NYC 5K Run and Walk on September ​27, ​2026, in Brooklyn, New York. Registration is capped at30,000 participants,and packet pick-up takes place September ​21 through26, with no same-day pick-up. This is the run that honors Stephen Siller's final miles,and it funds the mortgage-free homes mission.

Closer to home, the Foundation will host its first Southern California 5K Run and Walk at Huntington City Beach on September ​19, and a full look at the foundation's 2026 work, including new Veterans Villages, is in my Tunnels to Towers 2026 update.

You do not have to run to take part. Virtual participation, a donation, or simply sharing the 9/11 Never Forget educational resources with a neighbor all carry the mission forward. The point is to remember, then to build.

What Home Means After 9/11

The morning of September ​11, ​2001, most of us still believed a home was four walls and a roof. Afterward, we learned home is where you run when the world shakes. It is the table where your family gathers, the door you lock at night, and the community you look out for. That understanding changed how I do real estate,and it is why I serve veterans, first responders,and families with such focus.

A quarter century later,my mission has not changed:help people find the stability of a home,and serve the people who served us. The Tunnels to Towers Foundation builds homes for heroes. I help heroes and their families find homes on the market. Same mission, different tools, one shared commitment:Service Before Self.