For those who lived through it, Sept. 11, 2001, is a day they will never forget.
But, as time moves on, we need to ensure that we don’t let our children and future generations forget the heroism of those who were in New York City, in Washington D.C., and on United Flight 93 that day.
One person was Bob Beckwith, a retired firefighter and Korean War veteran famous for standing with President George W. Bush at Ground Zero three days after the attack.
As announced by his grandson, Matthew Beckwith, Bob Beckwith died on Monday from melanoma contracted from Ground Zero, at the age of 91, according to a report in the New York Post.
Beckwith is mourned by his wife, four surviving children, 10 grandchildren and two great grand children. He is also remembered by personages as illustrious as former Long Island representative Pete King, who wrote on Facebook that Beckwith “was a man of dignity and class who personified the very best of the FDNY, New York and America at our most perilous moment. I was proud to call Bob my friend and extend my prayers and deepest sympathy to his wife Barbara and all his family members.”
The Post reported that former President Bush also called Beckwith’s wife to offer his condolences.
While Beckwith himself might not be a household name, people alive at the time may remember seeing his picture splashed across magazines and television, standing beside Bush during his famous “bullhorn speech.”
Beckwith, a native of Baldwin, New York, was 69 and retired from the fire department at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Do you remember this speech?
Upon hearing news of the planes hitting the World Trade Center, he rushed to Ground Zero and spent the following few days helping the search and rescue teams.
On the day Bush came to the city, Beckwith “was standing on top of Engine Co. 76’s mangled fire engine in the middle of the rubble when he was approached by senior presidential aide Karl Rove with an unusual request.”
According to Beckwith, Rove told him, “Somebody is coming here. What you do, you help them up, and then you get down.”
And that someone was President Bush himself.
With his arm around Beckwith and a bullhorn in his hand, the image became an iconic part of the story of 9/11.
As for that content of the speech, what began as an ordinary speech, given the circumstances, took a turn when someone in the crowd shouted to Bush, “We can’t hear you.”
Then, according to Beckwith himself, Bush pivoted from his planned speech and shouted back: “I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.”
To which Bush was greeted with cheers and chants of “U.S.A!”
As for Bush and Beckwith, their families were friends from that day forward. Beckwith and his wife attended the annual White House Christmas party each year Bush was in office, and Bush sent Beckwith and his family a hand-painted Christmas card every year.
In these increasingly politically divided times, it’s almost surreal to look back on the days immediately following 9/11, where, in response to that unthinkable attack on American soil, Americans rallied together, with public and proud displays of patriotism.
As horrifying as those attacks were for the people who live through them, it created a sense of unity and pride in our country that we, regrettably, haven’t seen since.
And Bush’s speech masterfully encapsulated what everyone felt in those days, capturing our outpouring of support for our countrymen and a burning desire for justice.
There was no question of helping our fellow countrymen then, regardless of their political affiliation.
Would we do the same today, when social media is filled with radical leftists clamoring for the blood of Trump supporters in response to the non-event of Jan 6 or crying for armed revolution when their candidate doesn’t win?
We may hope not, but the political landscape has changed so dramatically, it’s hard to say for certain.
Still, we can remember the solidarity that prevailed that day, and those days in the immediate aftermath, encapsulated in the image of crowds chanting “U.S.A.!” while Bush and Beckwith stood together atop a firetruck amid the rubble of the World Trade Center.
And we can honor the bravery and heroism of Beckwith, who was doing the right thing at the right time, and had it immortalized for future generations.
