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U.S. firefighter shares 16,900-pound 9/11 beam nationwide

9/8/2026

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Summary

Stephen Siller Displays Beam

U.S. firefighter Stephen Siller Jr. transports and displays a 16,900-pound World Trade Center steel beam nationwide, inviting public touch.
At a Florida elementary school, children lifted the rain-soaked beam and prayed.
Retired FDNY battalion chief John Ricketts built 78 scale Twin Tower models from recovered steel.
He has given away 65 models and will distribute the remaining 13 before Christmas.

Summary

Aon Evacuates

Aon’s evacuation plan saved roughly 924 employees after the south tower was hit.
Cantor Fitzgerald suffered the deadliest corporate loss, with 658 employees killed in tower one.
Dadakis avoided the tower by taking a client call from home instead of commuting.
CNN aired the documentary “Top of the World” on Monday at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

History

Historical Context

The 2001 al-Qaeda attacks that killed 2,977 people sparked the Global War on Terror and led President Bush to declare Patriot Day on September 14, 2001. In response, New York built the Reflecting Absence memorial, completed in 2011, and the 2010 Zadroga Act funded health care for responders. Today, FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller Jr. tours a recovered 16,900-lb steel beam, linking past loss to ongoing remembrance.

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Stephen Siller Displays Beam

U.S. firefighter Stephen Siller Jr. transports and displays a 16,900-pound World Trade Center steel beam nationwide, inviting public touch.
At a Florida elementary school, children lifted the rain-soaked beam and prayed.
Retired FDNY battalion chief John Ricketts built 78 scale Twin Tower models from recovered steel.
He has given away 65 models and will distribute the remaining 13 before Christmas.

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