Paulie Veneto prepares for his biggest push to honor 9/11 'heroes'

BRAINTREE − Paulie Veneto confesses he's a bit nervous as he's about to begin his biggest push.

Has he trained enough, especially on hills? Is he getting enough sleep? Is he eating right? Those are just some of the questions he ponders.

On Aug. 14, the former flight attendant will leave Newark Airport in New Jersey pushing an airliner drink cart bound for Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a four-week, 300-mile trek to honor the flight crew and passengers who died aboard United Flight 93 in the Sept. 11 attacks.

This year's push is longer than his two previous efforts combined: Logan Airport to the World Trade Center in New York to honor United Airlines Flight 175 in 2021 and Dulles Airport to the Pentagon to honor those on American Airlines Flight 77 last year.

Still, Veneto is confident.

"That cart will be in Shanksville on Sept. 11," he said. "I'm ready to roll."

A Braintree resident, Veneto, 64, began his training in February, trying to build up to 12 miles a day. He and his cart, along with the donated recreational vehicle he uses for support, have become a familiar sight on the streets of Quincy. But he hasn't been able to do as much training as he would like as he spends time planning the trip.

This year's trek, which will take him across the middle of Pennsylvania, poses special challenges.

"Those hills in Pennsylvania are tremendous," Veneto said during a recent interview in the "Paulie's Push" RV parked in Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester.

He said the route will take him through miles of cornfields, limiting the number of people he encounters along the way. He said he will try to get an early start to beat the weather in what has been a hot and humid summer, hoping to average 10 miles a day on the road to arrive in time.

"It's not like going to New York," Veneto said. "You get an adrenaline push from the people along the way. Without them, you got to dig deep."

And when he needs an extra push, all he needs to do is look at the top of his cart at the pictures of the flight attendants on United Flight 175. They were his friends and crewmates.

Flight 175 was Veneto's regularly scheduled flight. He had arrived at Logan on the Boeing 767-200 with the Boston-based crew on Sept. 10, 2001.

Veneto had the following day off. He was helping a friend build a concrete wall on Quincy's Hospital Hill when he heard about the first crash at the World Trade Center. He watched the second crash on TV, not knowing it was the flight he usually worked. Six flight attendants and two United gate agents were aboard the flight.

"They were such great people. I loved working with them," Veneto said. "I loved that career."

More: Braintree's Paul Veneto honors 9/11 crews with Dulles-Pentagon drink cart push

He was a flight attendant for 30 years with five different airlines. His emotions following the Sept. 11 attacks fueled an addiction to opiates, which were originally been prescribed for his back problem. The 10th anniversary of the attacks sent him into a tailspin, and he retired. It wasn't until five years later that he beat the drug habit.

"I knew it was either get straight or die," Veneto said in an interview two years ago. "It was a miracle I got straight. I just prayed."

Veneto started "Paulie's Push" as a way to honor his fellow flight attendants, whom he calls "the first first responders" of 9/11 because they cared for the passengers on the hijacked planes. Any money he raises goes to cover expenses as well as to 9/11-related charities.

On Flight 93, the passengers and crew revolted against the hijackers, forcing the plane down in an empty field rather than its intended target, which was believed to be the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Veneto said the design of the aircraft made the revolt possible, since Flight 93 was a 757 with a single aisle.

"Everyone was witness to what was going on," he said.

He said the passengers and crew did what they knew had to be done.

"Tell me they're not heroes," Veneto said. "They knew what would happen if they attacked the terrorists."

More: Braintree teen finds passion in community service, creates 9/11 tribute for local veterans

On Aug. 12, Veneto will attend his 45th-year Milton High School reunion at the Quincy Bay Inn along with some of his classmates who serve as his support crew. At 10 p.m., they will leave the reunion and head down Hancock Street with a police and fire escort. After a stop at the flight crew memorial in West Orange, New Jersey, they will head to Newark, where the push will begin.

He will nearly circle the airport so workers who were on the job that day 22 years ago will be able to see him.

He said he hopes to push from Boston to the World Trade Center next summer to follow the route of American Airlines Flight 11. Then he will take a year off before going from New York to Boston in his final push on the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Paulie Veneto is facing his longest push yet