Retired flight attendant Paul Veneto, who is pushing airline service carts from Logan Airport to Ground Zero to honor the memory of flight crews lost in the 9/11 attack, made his way through Wellesley on Sunday. Those who died included Veneto’s colleagues as well as peers from other airlines, all of whom he describes as “the first, first responders.”
Veneto launched Paulie’s Push to raise funds for the flight crew members’ families as well as to support Power Forward, which address the stigma of addiction. He departed Logan on his trek Saturday and at a 10-to-20 mile walking pace per day, plans to arrive at Ground Zero on Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the attacks.
As detailed in this Washington Post article about Veneto, he suffered from opioid addiction following the attacks. Veneto was usually on United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the World Trade Center, but not on Sept. 11, 2001.
Wellesley’s Eric Fichtel, who shared this photo, wrote to us: “This fine man was featured in the national news and I had the pleasure of meeting him while heading to the dump after literally just reading about him.”
The Wellesley Police Dept. also caught up with Paulie:
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It was an honor to have Paul include the Town of Wellesley on his walking route. Our DPW crews enjoyed meeting him at Town Hall and wish him the very best as he continues to his destination.