9/11 firefighter who stood next to President George W. Bush atop debris, dies at 91

(FOX) – Bob Beckwith, the New York City firefighter who stood at President George W. Bush’s side at Ground Zero in the immediate aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks, has died at age 91.

Wrapping his arm around Beckwith at Ground Zero on Sept. 14, 2001, President Bush addressed first responders while standing on a pile of rubble and speaking through a bullhorn.

“I want you all to know that America today – America today is on bended knee in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work here, for the families and more. This nation stands with the good people of New York City, and New Jersey and Connecticut, as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens,” Bush said.

“I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon,” the president added, garnering applause and chants of USA. “The nation sends its love and compassion to everybody who is here. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for making the nation proud. And may God bless America.”

Beckwith, who served 30 years with the FDNY, was 69 years old and had retired six years prior at the time he watched the Twin Towers collapse on television from his home on Long Island.

Three days later, he decided to drive to Lower Manhattan to help search for survivors, following police cars across the Williamsburg Bridge.

Dressed in his old gear, including his leather fire helmet from Ladder Company 164, Beckwith managed to convince both members of the NYPD and National Guard that he was late for duty and was granted access to Ground Zero, according to the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

Once on site, he went to work on the bucket brigade, as the lines of first responders who stood shoulder to shoulder, manually handed off buckets of debris in the search for survivors. The crew he joined managed to unearth FDNY Engine 76.

As they searched for the truck’s driver, Beckwith overheard that Bush would be visiting the site shortly and jumped onto the fire truck to get a good view of the command post where the president was expected to speak. A person Beckwith believed to be a Secret Service agent – later identified as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove – approached the truck and asked Beckwith to jump up and down to prove that the wreckage was safe to climb.

He complied but was soon surprised to see the president walking toward him.

Beckwith, surrounded by news cameras, unknowingly became part of the historic moment Bush rallied American resolve in the aftermath of the attacks.

The image of him and the president was plastered on the cover of Time magazine at the time. Though Beckwith was only at Ground Zero that day, as members of his former fire company were concerned about his age during search and rescue efforts, the helmet he wore remains an artifact and symbol of heroism.