KBYU Eleven features 9/11 memorial specials

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New York firefighter Stephen Siller had just gotten off a night shift and was on his way to play golf when he heard about the World Trade Center attacks. He told his wife he would be late and turned around to get his gear. He ran into the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel near the towers, which was already closed to traffic. He died in the tunnel saving lives.

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KBYU will feature specials on the anniversary of 9/11.
With the help of her family Sarah Siller, Stephen Siller’s widow, has raised more than $7 million for the Stephen Miller Children’s Foundation. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation aims to “transform and transcend 9/11” through the support of at-risk children and heroes who died in the line of duty, according to its website. Every year around the anniversary of his death, people run Siller’s route through the Battery Tunnel to remember his and others’ sacrifices.

 

Sarah Siller’s story is a part of the award-winning documentary, “From the Ground Up.” It follows the lives of five New York firefighters’ widows 10 years after their husbands died. The film documents their struggles as single parents, trying to raise children and pay the bills, while also trying to make their communities a better place.

“From the Ground Up” is one of four memorial specials airing on KBYU Eleven on Sunday reflecting how the attacks impacted Americans.

“We wanted to do our part to recognize and commemorate this tragic event in our nation’s history,” said KBYU Eleven station manager Diena Simmons when asked about how the station was going to remember 9/11.

A NOVA special titled “Engineering Ground Zero” will also air that night. It shows the construction process of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. It follows engineers and architects as they try to build a national remembrance site under tight time constraints while in the public spotlight.

The special, “Utah Voices After 9/11,” hits closer to home. It examines where Utahns were at the time of the attacks and shows how Utah and the country have changed since that day.

“Rising Above 9/11- A Music and the Spoken Word,” features former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. In a promotional video for the special, Brokaw called it, “a tribute to the American spirit.” Music and words will take viewers through the trials of affected everyday Americans and how they rose above tragedy to “meet the new challenges of the 21st century.”

The specials will air Sunday, Sept. 11, beginning at 7 p.m.

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