Just three days after the Sept. 11 attacks, retired firefighter Bob Beckwith, who was seen in the iconic photo astride a firetruck with then-President George W. Bush at Ground Zero, has died. He was 91 years old.
Former Long Island Republican Rep. Peter King Beckwith’s death announced on Facebook Monday praised the veteran first responder as “an American icon who represented the best of the FDNY, New York and America in its most dangerous moments.”
“I was proud to call Bob a friend and send my prayers and deepest condolences to his wife Barbara and his entire family,” King, 66, added. “Rest in peace, Bob Beckwith.”
Beckwith’s cause of death has not been announced at this time. He is survived by his wife, six children and grandchildren.
Mr. Beckwith, 69, of Baldwin, New York, was seven years retired after 30 years with the FDNY, and on September 14, 2001, he rushed to Ground Zero to help with search and rescue efforts, but was inadvertently injured. Died. His photos have become part of history, appearing in newspapers and television all over the world and even appearing on the cover of Time magazine.
Wearing a firefighter’s helmet and a respirator strapped to his neck, Beckwith was standing on top of Engine Co. 76’s broken fire truck amidst the rubble when he was approached by Karl Rove, a senior presidential aide. I was approached with an unusual request.
“Someone’s coming here. What you do is help them up, get them up, and then you get down,” Loeb instructed Beckwith.
Minutes later, firefighters saw President Bush, wearing a gray jacket and slacks, walking toward him with his arms raised.
“I said, ‘Oh my God.’ I pulled him up on the rig and turned him around. I said, ‘Are you okay, Mr. President?’ He said. “Yes,” Beckwith said. He spoke in detail to NBC New York. “So when I started to get depressed, he said, ‘Where are you going?’ I said, ‘He told me to get off. He said, “Oh, no, you stay here.” And he put his arm around mine. ”
Someone handed Mr. Bush a bullhorn to alert first responders and ironworkers working at the scene, and Mr. Bush began speaking, draping his arm over Beckwith’s shoulders. The sight of the president and the firefighters surrounded by piles of rubble and construction equipment is a haunting legacy of 9/11.
“I can’t hear you,” shouted one person in the crowd. Beckwith said the president changed his speech on the spot and delivered an impassioned scream that moved the audience and the nation.
“I can hear you,” Mr. Bush said over the loudspeaker. “The rest of the world hears you. And those who destroyed these buildings will soon hear us.”
Recounting that moment more than 20 years later, Beckwith recalled how the people at Ground Zero became “enraged” and began shouting “USA!”
“And I stood there. I looked up to heaven and said, ‘Look, Mom.’ I’m with the president,” he told a local NBC station.
As he was about to leave, a Secret Service agent tapped him on the shoulder and handed him an American flag, saying Bush wanted him to have it.
The following year, the Beckwiths were invited to the White House and presented President Bush with his famous bullhorn.
The two formed a bond after a chance encounter on top of a crushed fire truck.
During President Bush’s two terms, the Beckwiths were invited to the White House Christmas party every Christmas.
Every year, Beckwith received a Christmas card with a holiday-themed picture drawn and signed by the former president, who became an amateur artist after retiring.
In Baldwin’s home, Beckwith keeps a framed copy of the famous Time magazine cover depicting him and Bush at Ground Zero, as well as a flag given to him by the former president as a precious memento of their iconic encounter. Was.
“It’s not about me,” Beckwith said last year. “This was about the president and the country, and it was about a terrible tragedy. I’m not going to pat myself on the back, I didn’t do anything. When the president was there, I happened to be the right person at the right time. I was there.”
