Posted on: Saturday, December 8, 2001
Survivors, fire crews come together
• A day for American heroes
• Sept. 11 taught couple that 'life is precious'
• Families bring Pearl Harbor ashes back to stay
• Punchbowl service links past to present
• Photo gallery: Honoring Pearl Harbor's heroes
• What are your thoughts on the 60th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in the wake of the Sept. 11 events? Join our discussion.
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| New York City firefighter Joe Hodges yesterday embraced another attendee of the 60th anniversary memorial service at Pearl Harbor. Hodges was one of four New York firefighters who, with the Sept. 11 tragedy fresh on their minds, traveled to Hawai'i for the Pearl Harbor anniversary.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser |
They were heroes from different generations and the gulf between them was six decades wide. But they had something in common, something terrible.
It showed in their eyes when they met yesterday at the USS Arizona Memorial — the New York City firefighters and the survivors of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. It was like they already knew each other.
The firefighters from Ladder Company 6 — Joe Hodges, John Starace, Tommy Falco and Sal D'Agostino — traveled to Hawai'i at their own expense to attend the 60th anniversary ceremony.
"We wanted to pay tribute to the men," said Falco, 47. "I feel like them. We have something in common."
Like the veterans, they lost friends on an infamous day: Sept. 11. Like the veterans, they become survivors — D'Agostino and Falco had been in the North Tower of the World Trade Center before it collapsed.
And like the veterans, they helped rally a nation.
As he heard descriptions of lost innocence and burned sailors, D'Agostino found it hard to listen.
"I was thinking of three months ago," said D'Agostino, a 31-year-old second-generation firefighter. "People went to work, innocent civilians, and they were murdered."
D'Agostino is a big man. He needed a big breath to continue.
"I was all choked up," he said. "I was all emotional. It's still fresh for us. We had a lot of brothers killed."
All morning, the firefighters exchanged hugs and handshakes, as gracious as any war hero. They signed autographs and posed for photographs. Like the Pearl Harbor survivors, they never said no to anyone.
Real heroes never do.
