HOUSTON – The first sound many people heard Sunday morning was “Amazing Grace,” carried by bagpipes as an honor guard procession moved beneath a towering arch of American flags at Space Center Houston. Moments later, a steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center — nearly 17,000 pounds of twisted history — was blessed in a solemn ceremony that organizers said was meant to make “Never Forget” tangible.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “Steel Across America” tour stopped in Houston on May 31 as part of a nationwide commemoration ahead of the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, bringing the sacred artifact and a mobile 9/11 exhibit to the Space Center campus for visitors and community members to experience firsthand.
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“He left his car outside the tunnel and ran”
For Stephen Siller Jr., the stop carried the weight of personal history. He is the son of FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who was off duty the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when he heard over the radio that the towers had been struck.
“He heard it come over the radio that the towers had been struck by a plane, so he turned his car around, drove to his firehouse,” Siller said. When his unit had already responded, he said his father grabbed his gear and drove toward Manhattan — only to find the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel closed.
“So he grabbed his gear, left his car outside the tunnel, and ran to the World Trade Center, where he ultimately lost his life in the South Tower,” Siller said.
Teaching kids what 9/11 meant
Now, a quarter century later, Siller said the mission of the tour is to ensure that story — and the stories of so many others — doesn’t fade as more Americans grow up without firsthand memory of that day.
“I was nine months old at the time,” Siller said. “I wasn’t really able to truly understand the gravity of that day until afterwards. That’s what this steel tour is doing. We’re teaching children across the country — people who didn’t get what happened on September 11th — the story.”
The “Steel Across America” tour is carrying the beam more than 10,500 miles, with more than 35 stops in 21 states and Washington, D.C., before culminating at Ground Zero on the 25th anniversary of the attacks. Alongside the steel, the foundation also brought its 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit — an 83-foot tractor-trailer that unfolds into a 1,100-square-foot educational exhibit honoring the lives lost, including the 343 FDNY members killed in the line of duty.
Why the tour’s only Houston stop mattered
Siller said Houston was a particularly meaningful place for the tour to pause.
“It’s important for us to be here in Houston today because of all the help that Texas has provided us and all the work we’ve done here,” he said, pointing to the foundation’s ongoing presence in the region — including a homeless veterans program in Houston. “We also have over 100 families where we’ve provided mortgage-free smart homes here.”
He also referenced a local act of remembrance that followed the attacks.
“There’s a special event that occurred here after September 11th. It was called Flags Across America, where they laid thousands of flags in honor of those who lost their lives,” Siller said. “It was a memorial then, and it’s a memorial again today.”
After the steel blessing, guests moved inside for the formal program, which included the presentation of colors and the national anthem. Community leaders and first responders delivered remarks, including Houston Fire Chief Thomas Muñoz, who spoke about the bravery and sacrifice shown on Sept. 11 and the responsibility to remember.
Siller tied the message of the tour to the place hosting it.
“Space Center Houston is a place that celebrates the courage it takes to go where no one has gone before — and that spirit of fearless service is exactly what we saw on September 11,” he said. “The first responders who ran toward the Twin Towers that morning were cut from the same cloth as the heroes this place honors. Steel Across America is our way of making sure their sacrifice is never forgotten — not just in New York, but in every city, in every state, and in every American heart.”
As part of the ceremony, Siller presented Space Center Houston Chief Operating and Strategy Officer Keesha Bullock with a commemorative steel flag featuring the New York City skyline with the Twin Towers standing tall — a custom piece incorporating World Trade Center steel and presented, organizers said, only to those who demonstrate honorable dedication to the foundation’s mission.
What Tunnel to Towers does year-round
Tunnel to Towers, founded in the wake of 9/11, provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and builds specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The organization has also expanded its efforts to address veteran homelessness.
“We pay off mortgages for first responders and military service members that lose their lives in the line of duty, leaving young families behind,” Siller said. “But we also build smart homes for catastrophically injured first responders, and veteran families.”
Space Center Houston: perseverance and public learning
Space Center Houston leaders said the exhibit fit the venue’s mission — and its responsibility to help younger generations understand major moments in U.S. history.
“As part of our America 250 celebration, we’re really proud to welcome the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and ‘Steel Across America,’” said Keesha Bullock, chief operating and strategy officer at Space Center Houston. “It’s the only stop here in Houston, and we’re just so delighted, proud, and honored to have them here.”
Bullock called Space Center Houston a natural place to host an event centered on perseverance.
“We bring together the federal government, the commercial sector and the public to really explore space exploration, and to tell those stories of human spaceflight, and just human perseverance in general,” she said. “So I think there couldn’t be a better place to host this event.”
As visitors walked in, Bullock said the scene underscored a broader challenge: how to keep the meaning of 9/11 alive for children and teens who weren’t born yet — or who have only encountered it through textbooks.
“For generations that are growing smaller, who weren’t here on 9/11, it’s our responsibility now to educate those future generations,” Bullock said. “Space Center Houston is a science learning destination, so this is a really great opportunity to connect what we do every day.”
For Siller, that generational bridge is the point — and the reason the physical presence of the steel matters.
“The void can never be completely filled,” he said, reflecting on losing his father as an infant. “But the healing that’s followed, because of the creation of this organization, has been immense.”
How to learn more
Those who want to learn more about Tunnel to Towers can visit T2T.org, Siller said, adding that donations help support the foundation’s work nationwide. Space Center Houston programming and upcoming events are available at SpaceCenter.org.
The Steel Across America tour will make its next stop at the Long Center in Austin, Texas on June 2.