He became one of the faces of the September 11 terror in New York City: firefighter Bob Beckwith, at whose side then US President George W. Bush used a megaphone to proclaim slogans of perseverance to the population after the devastating attacks. Beckwith has now passed away at the age of 91.
The New York Fire Department announced the sad news on Monday. Chief Laura Kavanaugh spoke of a moment “both inspiring and heartbreaking” that will forever be linked to Beckwith’s face as he — then 67 years old and effectively retired — stood next to the president in the Manhattan mess.
“We had no idea the president was coming.”
After that, he no longer wanted to be in the spotlight, and things slowly became quiet around Beckwith, who, according to American media, struggled with forgetfulness in his last years. “We had no idea the president was coming. And if we knew, we would have forgotten,” he recalled on the 2021 horror anniversary.
Beckwith said he was standing on a wrecked fire truck when Bush showed up. “And he comes right up to me and he extends his arm and I pull him up.” From the iconic moment on, he has held the American flag that the president was holding in his hands at the time. He cherished her in his home on Long Island.
Bush praises ‘courageous and resilient spirit’
The second main character has not forgotten the scene either: former President Bush responded to the news of his death with a detailed statement:
Over the years, he has kept in touch with the “patriot” Beckwith, whose courage “represented the bold, resilient spirit of New Yorkers and Americans after September 11.”
Source: Krone
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