(New York) Former US President George W. Bush on Monday paid tribute to the memory of a New York firefighter who died at the age of 91 and was made famous by a photo alongside him on the ruins of the World Trade Center, just after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The September 14, 2001 press photos showing Robert “Bob” Beckwith, then retired at age 69 and wearing a firefighter’s helmet and mask, standing near President Bush (2001-2009) on the site of “Ground Zero” had made around the world.
Mr. Bush said he was “proud” in a statement published on [ses] sides at Ground Zero and the privilege of remaining in contact with this patriot for years to come.”
“When the terrorists attacked, Bob put himself back in uniform and, like many courageous rescuers, braved danger to help others. His courage represents the spirit of defiance and resilience of New Yorkers and Americans after September 11, 2001, greeted the former Republican president who had been in the White House since January of that year.
“This iconic photo with President Bush captured a moment that was both exhilarating and heartbreaking,” said New York Fire Chief Laura Kavanagh, making public the death of Mr. Beckwith on Sunday evening. at the age of 91.
She saluted Bob Beckwith as one of many retired New York firefighters who visited the World Trade Center (WTC) site in the days and months following 9/11 to assist in emergency operations. relief”.
Perched on the ruins of the Twin Towers district in southern Manhattan, Mr. Bush, megaphone in hand, rallies America and New York by shouting to rescuers: “I hear you. I hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And those who brought down these buildings will soon hear all of us.”
Mr. Bush has an arm around Bob Beckwith’s shoulders, who sometimes has a fixed gaze with a slight smile, sometimes a very smiling face.
Mr. Beckwith, born in 1932, was a New York firefighter from 1965 until his retirement in 1994.
The jihadist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States (2,977 deaths in total and nearly 6,300 injured according to an official report) brought New York to its knees, after the two WTC towers were destroyed by two rushed airliners. by the Islamist group Al-Qaeda.
In these skyscrapers, 2,753 people lost their lives that day, including at least 343 firefighters who intervened there.
In 2021, a compensation fund for victims of September 11 estimated that there were now more people dead from illnesses linked to the destruction caused by the attacks – cancers in rescuers who cleared Ground Zero – than people killed the day of these attacks which marked History.