The Tunnels to Towers Foundation’s traveling 9/11 museum landed in Brooksville, FL. between November 7, 2025 to November 9, 2025 in the heart of the downtown area. I caught wind of the event like many modern Americans, through my Facebook feed. I was reluctant to go at first, though I thought it would be a great experience; not only for me but my sixteen-year-old son as well. He wasn’t born when the towers went down. It is important for the younger generation to understand the gravity of what happened on that day.
This last September marked the 24th anniversary of that horrific attack on the soil of the United States of America. It was an event that left all of us in shock as most of us watched from our television sets.
For those that were there, it is a horror movie that plays on a loop in their minds. It is a fixed point in time that brings sorrow, and a longing for the family members they lost, the wives and husbands, and their fellow firefighters and police officers that perished sacrificing themselves and their own families for other people from certain death.
Walking Into the Museum
I wasn’t sure what to expect as I walked into the huge trailer. I walked into the door, I was greeted by one of the workers at the museum. The gentleman was a former firefighter out of Brooklyn, NY. who was there during the attacks. He was called to the site like many were to help.
He began to talk about all the good that Tunnels to Towers does for the injured first responders and the families of the fallen. The foundation gives an astounding $0.93 cents on the dollar to the programs and services. 5.5% goes to fundraising costs and 1.5% goes to management and general costs of operation.
They have a smart homes program that is set up for veterans and first responders that suffered from injuries that affect their mobility. They set up their Fallen First Responder Home Program for those who lost their loved one in the line of duty, or even to 9/11 related illnesses. This program aims to pay off the mortgages for these families.
They also have the Gold Star Family Home Program, the Homeless Veteran Program, and of course the Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Institute.
Listen to the Manager of the museum Bill Puckett speak about the foundation.
I became truly impressed by all of the good that the foundation does for all of the first responders and veterans. It warmed my soul and put a love and joy in my heart to know that there is an organization out there like Tunnel to Towers.
The exhibits were meaningful and beautiful. They had donated gear, still dirty with the soot of the destruction, some of it melted from the heat of the fires. As I walked through looking at pieces of the Twin Towers on display. I strolled up to one of lit cases that displayed coins, glass pieces, and a fragment of the structure itself.
As my eyes scanned over the items on display there was only one thing that caught me, it brought a tear into my eyes. The other items were cool, but when I saw the singed golf ball in the case, it really humanized the situation for me. This wasn’t some cold piece of concrete or marble flooring. This was a person, a human being with the same interest as me.
This was a guy or girl that may have had tee time that day after work. Wanted to knock back a couple beers and kill off a quick nine holes before going back to their family in time for dinner that evening. The moment became surreal for me as I thought of that person. It was not hypothetical; this was a real person that never got to go home that day.
His Grief Was Overwhelming
I walked out of the museum to get some extra video from museum goers, just to ask them what all of this meant to them. That’s when I saw a man who was visibly shaken as he came out of the museum.
I felt reluctant to talk to him. I could see the pain and grief in his aged face. This was a man that could not hold his emotions in.
I approached him softly and asked, “Would you like to tell me what this museum and organization means to you?”
His voice was warbling, his eyes were welling, and he sorrowfully said, “I can’t. This is the first time I have stepped foot inside any 9/11 memorial of any kind. I can’t go on the record.”
Quickly I agreed to his terms. I had to know this man’s story. “I promise you I will not put you on the record, but I would like to tell the story.”
He agreed and continued, “I was in the air traffic control tower the day that it all happened. I heard the whole thing. There was just nothing I could do.”
He burst into tears and dismissed himself with grace and apologies. I was left in shock. My heart was heavy for this man. I couldn’t imagine the burden he walked around with every day of his life.
As I got the rest of my exit interviews, I was sad. I was emotionally drained, but not in a bad way. The importance of what the Tunnels to Towers was doing as an organization really smacked me in the face. This wasn’t just some run of the mill museum with ancient artifacts rotting behind the glass. This was personal. The museum was about people’s lives here and now. And they are making a real difference in those lives.
Here are some videos from the patrons that came out of the museum. I thank you all for talking with me.
Special Thank You To: Bill Puckett, Tunnel to Towers and to Justin and Dasha Williams for their generosity letting me use their hot spot when mine went down.
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