On September 29, many of O’Neill High School’s Buffalo Battalion JROTC cadets gathered at the school at 4:30 a.m. to take a long bus ride to New York City for the annual Tunnel to Towers event. The annual fundraiser attracts thousands of runners and walkers; it retraces Firefighter Stephen Siller’s final footsteps on September 11, 2001, as he ran to assist at the World Trade Center and pays homage to the firefighters, law enforcement officers, and thousands of civilians who lost their lives that day.

Cadet Sophia Mitchell wrote about the experience: “This will be my fourth and final year of attending this event, and I will never get over the overwhelming emotions I feel when I see people stop to look for a significant other’s name, whether that be a dad, mother, sister or child. I hope this event was as touching and enlightening as it was fun and exciting to participate in.”
And, she said O’Neill’s newest crop of cadets did well that day.

“When we arrived, we noticed several cadets from other schools dressed in casual shoes along with rumpled shirts and pants in their formal uniform,” she said. “Despite the harsh rain and dropping temperatures that came along with the rain, our cadets stayed in their correct uniform and in formation until the end of the event. I am beyond proud of all the young cadets who were able to overcome this situation.”