NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The head of the Staten Island-based Tunnel to Towers Foundation is five days into his 500-mile walk to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
Frank Siller's Never Forget Walk stepped off on Aug. 1.
The 68-year-old has so far walked from the Pentagon to Arlington to Berryville, Virginia.
By Thursday, he had completed 70 miles of his journey.
"It's so beautiful. The country is just so beautiful," Siller told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell. "Everybody's been beautiful. The people on the road going by honking, waving, yelling out, 'Never Forget.'"
Siller trained for the journey by walking 10 to 15 miles a day and he said he's feeling good.
"My body feels strong," he said.
Siller has found plenty of company along the Old Dominion Trail.
"A lot of bicyclists going along and hopping off and walking with me. They said, 'I heard about what you're doing and do you mind if I walk with you?' I said, 'No absolutely. It's great,'" Siller said.
Siller said he has also come across police officers and firefighters waiting at rural intersections. They are thankful that he's spreading the word to never forget.
"They know, quite frankly, that God forbid something happens to any one of them and they have a young family, they die in the line of duty, that we're going to pay of their mortgage," Siller said.
The foundation, which was formed to honor the memory of his brother Stephen Siller, helps the families of fallen first responders.
The walk aims to raise money for the foundation, which has spent over $250 million supporting first responders, veterans and their families.
The trip will go through Shanksville, Pennsylvania before ending at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
Siller will end his walk by following in the footsteps of his firefighter brother, who was off-duty when he ran through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in full FDNY gear to get to the World Trade Center, where he was killed.