Speaking of his time serving during the Iraq war, declared by the US in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Kevin said: “When I flew the rotator into Iraq, the guy that sat next to me died in a mortar attack the next day. That was my welcome to Iraq. He added: “Some days my sleep was interrupted by incoming mortar fire, with one-time gravel spraying against my tent woke me up.”
The video captures crowd screaming in horror ( Image: Kevin Westley /Youtube)
“As one of the officers, I would often draw funerary detail. As they wheeled the coffins into or out of the aircraft, I would wonder did they have a wife? Kids? Have their parents been notified yet?” After talking through his feelings in the form of notes from a service he led, Kevin draws a heartbreaking conclusion: “In war a piece of our soul is lost on the battlefield and it can never be replaced in this life.”
Among hundreds of iconic images that emerged in the wake of the atrocity, many told deeply personal stories and captured the hearts of the world in the decades that followed. One such person was firefighter Mike Kehoe heading up the North Tower of the World Trade Center as workers fled summed up the bravery of all the 9/11 crews on that terrible day.
Mike Kehoe climbing the stairs during his heroic rescue
More than twenty years have nearly passed since he was photographed on the front page of the Mirror. Many people were shocked to learn that somehow Mike survived. But in total, 343 of his colleagues lost their lives following the terrorist attacks. Several friends have also since died as a result of cancer they contracted from working in the ash of both towers.
Asked in 2021 why he still wanted to be a fireman after all he has been through he said simply: “I just love it.” Mike added quietly: “I’ve never been back to Ground Zero since my time there in the weeks after 9/11.”
Mike can remember as he climbed the stairs people wishing them well. He said: “Our job was to get up to the floor where the plane hit to reach people there. That’s what we were determined to do. As we were going up people kept saying, ‘good luck’, ‘lots of luck’. But I must admit that even at that stage, I was frightened. Then over the radio [my boss] Roy said everybody evacuate the building now.
“We all turned around immediately. It was frightening. We managed to get into the lobby, it was like Beirut, there was rubble everywhere.” All six of Mike’s Engine 28 company – Roy Chelsen, Brian Becker, Frank Compagna, Bob Salvador, Jim Ippollito and Mike – managed to escape.
