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9/11 firefighter Bob Beckwith, who stood beside George W. Bush in iconic Ground Zero photo, dies

Snejana Farberov
Updated Feb. 5, 2024, 10:39 a.m. ET


Bob Beckwith, the retired firefighter who appeared in an iconic photo with President George W. Bush atop a fire engine at Ground Zero just three days after the Sept. 11 attacks, has died from Ground Zero-related cancer, his family said Monday.

Beckwith, 91, a married father of six, succumbed to Ground Zero-related melanoma that had spread to his lungs and brain after a years-long battle, grandson Matthew Beckwith, acting as the family spokesperson, told The Post.

He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones, according to a statement from the family.

“Bob lived a life of service to others, whether heeding the call to serve in the Navy during the Korean War or as an FDNY Firefighter for more than 30 years,” it stated.

“His iconic moment with President Bush at Ground Zero on 9/11 helped rally the nation in its darkest time and served as a symbol for first responders everywhere,” the family said. “Above all, Bob was the quintessential husband, father, brother, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He will be greatly missed.”

Former President Bush, 77, who had kept in touch with Beckwith over the years, called his widow this morning to express his condolences, his grandson revealed.

The heroic firefighter leaves behind his wife, their four surviving children,10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Beckwith, from Baldwin, New York, was 69 years old and retired for seven years after serving with the FDNY for three decades when on Sept. 14, 2001, he raced to Ground Zero to help with the search and rescue efforts.

He then inadvertently became a part of history with his photo splashed across newspapers and television screens all over the world, even making it onto the cover of Time magazine.

Beckwith, wearing a fire helmet and a respirator around his neck, was standing on top of Engine Co. 76’s mangled fire engine in the middle of the rubble when he was approached by senior presidential aide Karl Rove with an unusual request.

“Somebody is coming here. What you do, you help them up, and then you get down,” Rove instructed Beckwith.

A few minutes later, the firefighter saw Bush, sporting a gray jacket and slacks, walking toward him and raising his arm.

“I said, ‘Oh my God.’ I pulled him up on the rig, I turned him around. I said, ‘Are you OK, Mr. President?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’” Beckwith recounted to NBC New York in 2023. “So, I start to get down and he said, ‘Where you going?’ I said, ‘I was told to get down.’ He said, ‘Oh no, you stay right here.’ And he put his arm around me.”

Someone handed Bush a bullhorn to address the first responders and ironworkers laboring at the site and he began talking with his arm draped around Beckwith’s shoulder.

The image of the two men — the president and the retired firefighter — framed by mounds of debris and construction equipment has become an indelible part of the 9/11 legacy.

“We can’t hear you,” a person in the crowd shouted. That is when Beckwith said the president changed his speech on the fly, delivering an impassioned rallying cry that electrified his audience — and the nation.

“I can hear you,” Bush said through the bullhorn. “The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked down these buildings will hear all of us soon.”

“And there I am standing there. I did look up to heaven and I did say, ‘Look at me, Ma. I’m with the president,'” he told the local NBC station.

As he started to walk away, a Secret Service agent tapped him on the shoulder and handed him an American flag, saying that Bush wanted him to have it.

The following year, Beckwith and his wife were invited to the White House, where he gave Bush the famous bullhorn.

The two men had forged a bond stemming from their chance encounter atop the crushed fire truck.

During Bush’s two terms in office, Beckwith and his wife were invited to the White House Christmas party every year.

Every year, Beckwith would receive a Christmas card featuring a holiday-themed picture painted and signed by the former president, who has become an amateur artist in his retirement.

At his home in Baldwin, Beckwith kept a framed copy of the famous Time magazine cover depicting himself and Bush at Ground Zero, and the flag gifted to him by the ex-president as precious mementos of their iconic encounter.

“It’s not about me,” Beckwith said last year. “It’s about the president and the country, and it was for a terrible tragedy. I’m not gonna pat myself on the back, I didn’t do anything. When the president was there, I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time.”

Beckwith joined the FDNY in 1965 and was assigned to Ladder 117 in Queens. In 1987, he transferred to Ladder 164 where he spent the remainder of his career, before retiring in 1994.

“Bob Beckwith was one of many retired FDNY members who responded to the World Trade Center site in the days and months following September 11, to aid in rescue and recovery, as a testament to their devotion to their FDNY family,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said in a statement.

“His iconic picture with President Bush captured a moment that was both inspiring and heartbreaking,” she added. “We are grateful to his service to our city and our nation, and we join his family and friends in mourning his loss.”

Former Long Island Rep. Peter King (R-NY) paid tribute to Beckwith on Facebook Monday, hailing the veteran first responder as “an American icon who personified the best of the FDNY, New York and America at our most perilous moment.”

“I was proud to call Bob my friend and extend my prayers and deepest sympathy to his wife Barbara and all his family members,” King, 66, added.

https://nypost.com/2024/02/05/metro/9-11-firefighter-pictured-with-george-bush-in-iconic-photo-dies/

RIP Firefighter Beckwith.

RIP

Served in Korea, served as a firefighter for over 30 years... and when the buildings fell, he put those boots back on. He died from Ground Zero-related cancer. Sometimes we throw the word 'hero' around a little to easily, this is no such moment.

I thought it was awesome that he and W formed a lifelong friendship.

Iconic picture. The best of American during the worst of times.

R.I.P Bob.