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

BRAINTREE – Paul Veneto hasn't been able to train as much, hitting the roads of Braintree, Quincy and Weymouth pushing an airplane drink cart maybe three or four days a week.

Veneto, who pushed the cart 230 miles from Logan Airport in Boston to Ground Zero in New York last summer in honor of his fellow flight attendants on United Flight 175,  will follow the route of another of the four planes involved in the 9/11 attacks and honor a different flight crew. On Sept. 8, he will leave Dulles International Airport outside Washington and head for The Pentagon, a trip of a little over 35 miles.

If his first trip was a marathon, this one will be more of a sprint.

"I'm starting to get the feeling of excitement" as the start of his second trip draws closer, he said.

While last year's trek was originally planned as a one-time event, Veneto said the people he talked with along the route inspired him to keep going.

"There was momentum to this thing," said Veneto, 63.  "There was something special in what we are doing.  It still baffles me."

Braintree: Veneto will push airline drink cart from Boston to Ground Zero in memory of 9/11

His goal now is to, eventually cover the routes of all four flights. He would like to do the route of United Flight 93 from Newark to Shanksville, Pennsylvania next year, but Veneto said he would need to obtain a corporate sponsor to help with the expenses.  The route of the  final flight, American Airlines Flight 11, which went from Boston to the World Trade Center, he hopes to do in 2026, the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

American Airlines Flight 77 carried 58 passengers and six crew members when it left Dulles bound for Los Angeles. Aboard the Boeing 757-200 were five hijackers who crashed the plane into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Defense Department.  Everyone on the plane died, as did 125 people in the building.

Mission accomplished: Braintree's Paul Veneto completes his push to honor 9/11 flight attendants

Veneto said he has had a lot of help organizing this year's trip. American Airlines has agreed to let him depart from the crew lounge and go down the same ramp used by the flight that day. Local police mapped out a route for him, much of which follows a bike path.

As for access to the Pentagon, that's where Elizabeth Sweeney, sister of his friend Joe Sweeney, came in. Elizabeth Sweeney,  who retired after 33 years in the military, contacted the needed people to make the arrangements to finish the trip at the Pentagon.

The Sweeneys are the children of Air Force Major Gen. Charles Sweeney, of Milton, the pilot of the plane that dropped the second atomic bomb of the city of Nagasaki, Japan in 1945.

Veneto has been more involved in behind-the-scenes work this year, including organizing Paulie's Push into a charitable corporation. He also received the donation of an RV from a Hingham man who asked to remain anonymous. The RV will be used as his support vehicle.

Veneto started Paulie's Push to recognize the flight attendants aboard the four planes used in the 9/11 attacks. He calls them "the first first responders," caring for  their passengers while facing certain death themselves.

A flight attendant for three decades, Veneto regularly worked on United Flight 175 from Boston to Los Angeles, but was on a scheduled day off on Sept. 11, 2001.

The loss of his colleagues had a profound effect on him. While he continued to fly for another decade, he developed an addiction to opiates. He has been sober since Sept. 11, 2015.

During last year's push, Veneto wanted to keep the focus on the heroism displayed by the flight attendants that day, but he said many people were drawn to his story of recovery. He said he has been hearing from people from around the world since last year's journey.

"If I can inspire people, if I can bring some hope to people who are struggling, why not." Veneto said. "I'd rather be in this position than not to help someone."

This year's push will benefit Operation Homefront, which provides financial assistance to military families in need.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Braintree man honors 9/11 crews with Dulles-Pentagon drink cart push