Firefighter shuns politics, not 9/11

NEW YORK — When President Bush draped an arm across the shoulder of a retired firefighter at Ground Zero after the terror attacks, it was the defining moment of his presidency — and the moment that made Bob Beckwith famous.

Five years later, Beckwith still gets asked to speak about his moment in the spotlight. But he steers clear of politics and donates the proceeds from his speeches to the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation.

Beckwith had served New York City honorably but in relative obscurity for three decades as a firefighter at Ladder 117 in Queens.

"I just happened to be in the right place at the right time," Beckwith said. "I wasn't looking to be famous. After what happened with Bush, I was told not to come back. They found out I was 69 and they told me I was too old."

Now 74, Beckwith said he fears that not enough was being done to help ailing first responders who got sickened from their service in The Pit.

"What I'd like to see is something to help these guys who went down there and now their health is being affected," he said. "I'd like to see them being taken care of."

A married father of six and grandfather of 10 who lives in Baldwin, N.Y., Beckwith was one of the thousands of volunteers who raced to Ground Zero to help after the attacks. When the White House balked at releasing $90 million in federal aid to monitor the health of Ground Zero laborers, Beckwith was enlisted by the Uniformed Firefighters Association to join the group's silent protest when Bush made his State of the Union address in January 2003.

But Beckwith backed out, saying he was a Republican and didn't want to embarrass the president. A year later, he attended the Republican National Convention.

These days, Beckwith said, he avoids talking "politics."