Tom Sileo by Brothers Forever Page A

over and over again in the wrestling room and also noticed how his hunger for success carried over into the classroom. Cantrell, who had served on a selection board that ultimately determined the path Naval Academy graduates would take inside the military, was thrilled when Travis had made the Marine Corps his goal.
    Cantrell was subsequently assigned as the future first lieutenant’s mentor. Aside from guiding Travis’s physical training, including a rehabilitation program after a second surgery on his badly injured shoulder, Cantrell had also helped Travis prepare mentally for TBS and the rigors of becoming a Marine officer.
    â€œYou were a leader on the wrestling team,” Cantrell often told Travis. “Now you’re going to be a leader on the battlefield.”
    Even though Travis was a much younger, less seasoned Marine, he managed to inspire his mentor. Not only did Cantrell, who hadgraded Travis’s essays and exams, know this young man was bright enough to do anything he wanted in life, he always marveled over how Travis strove for tough assignments. Because he had excelled so greatly at TBS, Travis had been permitted to pick his unit, and he chose the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion with full knowledge that at least one combat deployment was on the horizon. Cantrell admired Travis’s courage and determination.
    Travis and Cantrell decided to spend a few days in New York City, where Cantrell had arranged a visit to the New York Fire Department’s Rescue 1 headquarters. Located in Hell’s Kitchen, Rescue 1 had become a revered place over the past five years. The small Manhattan building, which was still fully functioning, had been the home base for eleven firefighters—almost half the unit—killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
    When Travis walked through Rescue 1’s open red garage door, he saw men who had sacrificed and endured. It reminded him of the brave Marines he had seen on the front lines during his first deployment. The firefighters were welcoming, especially when they learned that Travis would soon be heading to Iraq for a second time.
    The firefighters assembled several tables of mementos for Travis to look at, including patches from the uniforms of several firefighters killed on 9/11. The names of every fallen Rescue 1 firefighter were carved into one of the tables, and Travis did his best to remember all eleven names after he left the firehouse.
    â€œSteve, I still can’t believe what these guys were willing to do,” Travis said to his friend and mentor. “I don’t know if I could run into a burning building.”
    â€œYou’ve already done it, Travis,” Cantrell said. “There’s nobody more prepared to get the job done than you are.”
    As they were leaving the firehouse, one firefighter and former Marine thanked Travis for coming to visit.
    â€œLieutenant Manion, I want you to have these hats and shirts,” the Marine Corps veteran said. “No matter how crazy things getover there, you can always put one of these on and remember what you’re fighting for.”
    Upon returning to his parents’ house, Travis headed down to the lower level, where his dad was working in his home office. When Tom asked his son about his trip, Travis said that though he and Cantrell had had some fun, the Rescue 1 visit was clearly the highlight.
    â€œI’ve never seen anything like it,” Travis said. “The truly awesome thing is how much they support us.”
    After talking more about the day’s events, Travis pulled a blue hat out of his bag. With the Rescue 1 FDNY logo on the front and “9–11–01 Never Forget” on the back, it was a symbol of the war that had begun when al Qaeda attacked the United States.
    â€œDad, I want you to have this, and please wear it while I’m gone,” Travis said. “No matter what happens, always remember that this is what we’re