Retired flight attendant pushes beverage cart from Boston to ground zero to honor 9/11 victims

As a flight attendant, Paulie Veneto spent much of his adult life pushing a beverage cart up and down the aisles of planes, and he absolutely loved it.

"I really would've done that job without pay because the interactions I had with the passengers and the camaraderie with my fellow flight attendants were just amazing to me," Veneto told TPG. "I was never interested in flying a plane. What I loved was meeting the people from all over the world."

Like so many of us, Veneto could never have imagined or prepared for the events of Sept. 11, 2001. He also never thought that he would mark the 20th anniversary of that tragic day by pushing a beverage cart 240 miles from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to the site of the 2001 World Trade Center collapse in New York City — but that is exactly what he did.

When Veneto set out on the first Paulie's Push, he did so with the intention of recognizing the "first, first responders" of 9/11: the flight crews who did everything in their power to mitigate the effects of a massive terrorist attack.

"American Flight 11 was the very first aircraft to be hijacked that morning, and we know from the recordings we've all heard that these crew members were truly the 'first, first responders' of September 11," Veneto said in a press release promoting this year's push. "They were relaying important information to the ground under horrendous conditions. If I can bring awareness to what they did that morning, that's the very least I can do."

Related: Retired flight attendant pushing beverage cart from Dulles to Pentagon to honor 9/11 victims

Veneto felt that more needed to be done to recognize the heroism displayed by the crew members who lost their lives that day.

"Flight attendants didn't get the same recognition as other first responders, and nobody is to blame for that," Veneto said. He understands that the enormity of the day made it impossible to honor every person who played a role in trying to prevent what happened.

As a flight attendant, Veneto often flew United Airlines Flight 175 — the Boston-to-Los Angeles route that was hijacked and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. So, he was in a unique position to give those flight attendants the recognition they deserved. Because of his work paying tribute to the flight crews and their loved ones, Veneto received a "Hero in Travel" award at the 2022 TPG Awards.

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This year marks the fourth Paulie's Push. In 2022, Veneto pushed his cart 35 miles from Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, D.C., to the Pentagon. Last year he set out on a 300-mile journey from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown, Pennsylvania.

This year, Veneto will once again trace the route from Boston to ground zero. This time, he will push his beverage cart 210 miles from the Boston Public Garden 9/11 Memorial to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at ground zero in New York City. This year's push commemorates American Flight 11, and it rounds out the four flights hijacked on 9/11.

He set out for this year's push Aug. 18 and will arrive at ground zero Sept. 11. Along the way, he will make various stops for speaking engagements. You can make donations and follow along with Paulie's Push via real-time map updates on his website.

It should go without saying that pushing a beverage cart was far from the most important thing Veneto did in his career as a flight attendant. Like all flight attendants, Veneto's primary responsibility was the safety of those aboard his aircraft.

Even now, as he makes his annual push, the cart is only a symbol for Veneto's primary objective: to honor his fallen crew members and bring awareness to the heroism they displayed when faced with unimaginable danger.

Related reading:

• The 'notable' way flight attendants show their gratitude to frequent flyers
• Inside the grueling 14-week flight attendant training at one of the world's top-ranked airlines
• We asked a flight attendant for their top insider tips on flying like a pro
• Top tips from a flight attendant to avoid the worst of summer's travel headaches