9/11 put on display retired FDNY firefighter Bob Beckwith's legacy of patriotism
Many remember an image featuring longtime New York City firefighter Bob Beckwith that spread around the world in the days following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — an image of bravery and hope.
Beckwith, who died in 2024, spent 30 years with the FDNY, and, though retired at the time, responded to the devastation at Ground Zero and was captured on film in an iconic moment with then-President George W. Bush.
Beckwith was unaware that the world had been watching when he returned to his home in the Nassau County hamlet of Baldwin from Ground Zero to greetings from proud neighbors.
"When he was on his way home, he said, 'Nobody's going to believe I was with the president,'" Barbara Beckwith said.
She said her husband, who was about to turn 70, was enjoying retirement on Long Island, when he put on his old uniform, strapped on his helmet, and drove to the devastation in Lower Manhattan to volunteer in a search for the missing.
"It honestly gives me chills," grandson Matthew Beckwith said. "He lived up to that moment, that moment in history for us, and the family, the community, the country."
The moment came when Mr. Bush stood atop the pile amid a charred fire truck in the rubble of the twin towers and motioned to Bob Beckwith to come forward.
"This nation stands with the good people of New York City," Mr. Bush said.
Images of a stoic Bob Beckwith, with the president's arm around his shoulder, became an iconic symbol of fortitude and resilience.
A flag is now framed in the Beckwith den.
"And this is the flag the president flew, the president gave to Bob himself," Barbara Beckwith said, recently showing the flag to CBS News New York's Jennifer McLogan.
With her husband's Irish cross around her neck, she said she also gets strength from a marble cross carved from an interior section of the north tower.
Through the years, Bob Beckwith invited CBS News New York into his home, showing us the flag Mr. Bush waved on that emotional day.
"And then I was walking back to go to work, and I got a tap on the shoulder by a Secret Service guy, and he says, 'The president's been looking for you.' I said, 'What?' He said, 'Yeah, he wants you to have this flag.' So I said, 'Wow, thanks,'" Bob Beckwith said during an interview in 2006.
The Beckwiths said the Bush family went out of their way to show appreciation and inclusion and that the relationship continued.
"Absolutely. My grandmother and grandfather were invited to holiday parties at the White House," Matthew Beckwith said. "The first time my grandfather went to the White House after 9/11 he walked into the oval office and George Bush said, 'There's the man that made me famous.'"
"We went to the White House I think four times," Barbara Beckwith said, showing a picture at Christmastime.
Bob Beckwith died of melanoma in 2024 at the age of 91, leaving behind a legacy that his widow, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren honor.
"It's a sense of pride, and the word we keep using is modesty and humility," Matthew Beckwith said.
Through the decades, Bob Beckwith was steadfast in his mission for our nation to provide healthcare needed by 9/11 first responders. He made yearly pilgrimages to Point Lookout, Long Island — the spot where dozens gathered spontaneously on that cloudless day 25 years ago to look across the water in shock as smoke rose from the burning towers.
"I just think he would like to be here now because it's 25 years, and we always went down to Point Lookout," Barbara Beckwith said.
Point Lookout will draw the family again this year, this time with the greatest significance.
"My generation, we were younger at the time of 9/11," Matthew Beckwith said. "It was really hard to grasp the nature of that moment, but as you grow up you really understand how devastating that was for the country and, ultimately, you know, the unity that came after it."
