The image of firefighters Dan McWilliams, George Johnson and Billy Eisengrein raising the tattered Stars and Stripes on September 11 became a symbol of hope for Americans on their darkest day. The three firefighters had spent the day at Ground Zero searching for survivors among the mammoth piles of rubble and in late afternoon were told to evacuate due to imminent collapse of … [Read more...] about Flag-Raising Firefighters
September 11
Bill Butler
Firefighter Bill Butler is very grateful to be alive. He and five colleagues from Ladder 6, Engine 9, were in the North Tower helping to rescue a Port Authority worker named Josephine Harris when the building collapsed around them. Miraculously, the part of the stairwell that they were in remained intact and they survived though others above and below them perished. When the … [Read more...] about Bill Butler
Arlene Howard: A Mother’s Love
Arlene Howard presented a very moving picture when she pressed her son George's New York Port Authority Police Department shield into the hand of President George W. Bush. The 77-year-old's son had died helping to rescue victims of the September 11 attacks, and President Bush was well aware of the honor behind the gesture. After thanking her, he whispered to her, "We'll get … [Read more...] about Arlene Howard: A Mother’s Love
Lynn Tierney
Imagine coming to work one day and 343 of your coworkers are suddenly dead. Months later you're still passing empty desks and no-longer-relevant nameplates. On your own desk is a white three-ringed binder containing scores of typed speeches -- eulogies that have been your responsibility to compile since the 343 went dead. "That's my eulogy book," Lynn Tierney says. "Keeps … [Read more...] about Lynn Tierney
William Baldwin:
Hollywood Helps
William "Billy" Baldwin helped comfort New York's firefighters in the aftermath of September 11. Baldwin, one of the four acting Baldwin brothers, was one of the many Hollywood celebrities who felt they had to do something to help those affected. Baldwin had played a firefighter in the 1991 movie Backdraft and to prepare for the role had ridden with a company of Chicago … [Read more...] about William Baldwin:
Hollywood Helps