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Three weeks after starting, Paul “Paulie” Veneto completes his 220 mile journey to Ground Zero.
Veneto, a 62-year-old former flight attendant from Braintree, Massachusetts, has been pushing a beverage cart from Boston’s Logan International Airport to Ground Zero since August 21 to honor his colleagues who died in the 9/11 attacks .
He ends his trip on Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks.
“I knew it had to be done, this story had to be told,” Veneto told Fox days before he arrived at Ground Zero. “That was the main focus for me, I had to make sure these guys were recognized. And so I knew what I was doing was important to their families, that it needed national coverage. I had to do something. that no one has ever done. “
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Immediately, Veneto’s journey – which he calls Paulie’s Push – ran into obstacles. On the day it left Logan International Airport, Hurricane Henri was heading for New England.
Paul Veneto, a 62-year-old former flight attendant, pushed a beverage cart from Boston to Ground Zero to honor his colleagues who died in the 9/11 attacks.
(Ian Stoker-Long, courtesy of COMPEL)
“They didn’t think I would do five miles and I did 18,” said Veneto. “So, sure, in Connecticut, I put the other hurricane, Ida, over there. So I was put to the test and nothing stopped me.”
“I said from the start, nothing will stop me from bringing this beverage cart to Ground Zero,” Veneto added.
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He said every day he reminded himself to keep pushing the drinks cart, no matter what obstacles – or weather conditions – he faced.
“All I had to do was push a cart,” Veneto said. “I was always going to do it. I was going to crawl with it, I was going to swim with it, I was going to wear it, I was going to do whatever I had to do, but all I had to do was keep going. to grow, rain or shine. “
Despite his long journey, Veneto said his trip was “nothing” compared to what the flight attendants and crew members who died on September 11 “went through and were able to accomplish.”
“He’s a true American hero, fighting trained terrorists,” he said. “It’s amazing. They were the first, the first responders on September 11th. They just were. And they should be recognized. That’s why I did what I did.”
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Veneto, who spoke to Fox News from the Bronx earlier this week, explained that his trip was “more than I expected.”
“It turned into something I had no idea was going to happen, but it was quite an adventure, I’ll tell you,” he said. “I see all these people on the street with signs and stuff, it’s just amazing. Absolutely amazing.”
The Veneto will end its trip on Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
(Ian Stoker-Long, courtesy of COMPEL)
He added that physically and mentally he felt “pretty good” despite the long trip.
“I guess the training paid off,” he said.
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Fox News had previously spoken to Veneto before his trip in July, while he was still training for the trip.
He explained at the time that the inspiration for the trip came from “common sense”.
Veneto, a former flight attendant, was a United Airlines flight attendant at the time of the attacks and even worked on Flight 175.
(Courtesy of Paul Veneto)
“I’m not going to walk to New York – people walk, people run… what are the flight attendants doing?” Veneto said at the time. “Everyone knows what a flight attendant does, they push a beverage cart down the aisle.”
The cart that Veneto pushes has American Airlines and United Airlines flight numbers on the sides, with photos of the crew and flight attendants on top, so “I watch them every day,” a- he declared.
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Veneto was a United Airlines flight attendant at the time of the attacks and even worked on Flight 175. He said he knew many of the deceased crew members.
“Every birthday that came, I thought of them,” Veneto said.
The Veneto began its journey on August 21, just as Hurricane Henri was heading northeast. Despite the storm, Veneto told Fox he still walked 18 miles that day.
(Ian Stoker-Long, courtesy of COMPEL)
Veneto said he often thinks about how flight attendants reacted during attacks, calling for ground control and cheering on passengers.
“These crew members, they came together under extraordinary conditions,” said Veneto. “It was America.”
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After 9/11, Veneto said he struggled for many years with an opioid addiction, eventually becoming sober in 2015, according to his website. However, he told Fox he didn’t want his recovery trip to “overshadow” the primary focus of his walk from Boston to New York.
He told Fox News: “I said from the start, nothing will stop me from bringing this beverage cart to Ground Zero.”
(Ian Stoker-Long, courtesy of COMPEL)
“I am so grateful that I was able to change my life… And now I am able to do what I do,” he said.
Veneto said he was happy to be able to draw attention to the heroism of flight attendants after “what we’ve all been through,” with the coronavirus pandemic and political tensions of the past year and a half.
“It’s not all of that,” he said. “Right now it’s, [let’s] recognize these guys. And I hope the rest of us can all get along. “
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