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George W. Bush and Robert Beckwith at Ground Zero: "His courage represented the bold, resilient spirit of New Yorkers and Americans after 9/11"
Photo: Doug Mills / AP
Former firefighter Robert "Bob" Beckwith, who became famous for a photo taken alongside then US President George W. Bush after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York, is dead. Beckwith died at the age of 91, like the fire department the US metropolis announced on Monday.
Fire Chief Laura Kavanaugh said the "iconic photo" at the site of the World Trade Center destroyed by the 9/11 attacks immortalized a moment that was "both inspiring and heartbreaking."
Bush praises firefighter's courage
Former President Bush said he was "proud" to have had Beckwith at his side back then. The Republican wrote on the short message service X, formerly Twitter, that he had stayed in touch with the “patriot” over the years. "His courage represented the bold, resilient spirit of New Yorkers and Americans after 9/11."
The famous photo was taken three days after 9/11 during Bush's first visit to Ground Zero. The photo shows the then-president with a megaphone in his right hand, his left arm draped over firefighter Beckwith's shoulders.
Beckwith returned from retirement after the attacks
At the time, Bush said to the emergency services who were searching the rubble for possible survivors: "I can hear you, the whole world hears you, and the people who brought down these towers will all hear from us soon."
Beckwith, born in 1932, had actually long since retired at the time of the terrorist attacks. He retired from the fire department in 1994. After the attacks, however, he reported back to work at the age of 69, like many former firefighters.
Al-Qaeda Islamists killed almost 3,000 people in attacks carried out in four hijacked planes in New York, Washington and the state of Pennsylvania. The attacks shook the USA to its core and sent the world power into a decades-long “war on terror”.
hen/AFP