Daniel Suhr - 1st Fireman Killed on 9/11

This is a tribute I wrote in 2006 for The 2,996 Project to mark the 5th anniversary of 9/11.
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Intro

When the entire world changed on September 11, I was left with a helpless feeling I have never experienced before, or since.
It changed me. It stole something from me, but it also made me a better person.
I jumped at the chance to honor a fallen American. I just didn't expect to that I would be honoring someone so....large. Larger than life. A hero for the ages.
I didn't know anything about Daniel Suhr when I got involved in this project, which seems rather odd. Danny's story, as it turned out, was all over the media initially after the attacks, and it played a fairly sgnificant role in the trial of Zacharias Moussoui.
The more I get to know about him, the more honored I am that I was assigned to write about him.

In the last few days, I've received e-mails from people who either knew Danny, or knew someone in Danny's family. Every person was somehow touched by his life, and moved by his death.
I find that as I write this, I'm actually pretty nervous. How do you do a guy like this justice?
I guess you can't. I feel like I knew Danny, but I didn't, and I could never really understand who he was without that interaction.
All I do know is, he has a story that deserves to be told. By knowing his story, and by hearing from the people who knew him and loved him most, I think that I've had an accurate portrayal of his character.

So, thanks to to James Suhr, who opened the door and let me into his brother's life.
I apologize to everyone who knew and loved Danny, for never being able to fully capture the amazing person that I know Danny Suhr was.
I'm gonna do my best.

He has become one of my greatest heroes.

Friends of Daniel Suhr called him "Captain America." He was a guy who seemed to have it all and do it all -- a tough fireman and athlete who seemed invincible.
And when he died, according to an e-mail I received this week, it was said that "they killed Superman."

I think it's an excellent description, because the guy was certainly above average.

The third of six children born into an Irish Catholic family from Brooklyn, Danny was a natural athlete and leader. An all city linebacker in high school, he played college football in California,and then went on to play semipro ball for the Brooklyn Mariners.
Danny joined the fire department when he was 21 years old, following in the footsteps of his father, who was a fireman for 33 years.
He would eventually become captain of his FDNY football team, as well.

Like I said -- larger than life.

But Captain America had a soft side, and it was his family that brought it out in him.
Danny and his wife, Nancy, had a love story that many people only dream of. They met when Danny was thirteen and Nancy was twelve. It was a perfect fit. They fell in love and never fell out of it. They dated for twelve years and married in 1989.
Together they had a daughter, Briana.
She was almost three when her dad died.
According to James, Nancy joked that it was amazing the baby ever learned to walk, because Danny was holding her in just about every picture.

On September 11, 2001, Danny was a member of FDNY Engine Co. 216. On a normal day, Danny would have driven the firetruck to the scene of the fire, but we know that September 11 was no ordinary day. And driving with the truck meant staying with the truck, and as he watched smoke and flames pour out of the World Trade Center towers, there was no way Danny Suhr was going to stay back with the truck. He was going in.
So Danny left the truck with a probie (a newbie firefighter), and headed towards the chaos.

All of us would like to say we'd be heroic in the face of grave danger, but the first instinct, for most of us, would be to run away from the fire.
Danny's instinct was to run to it.
He had a choice. He chose the danger.

As he rushed to the towers with his comrades, he was struck and killed by a jumper from the 31st floor of the North Tower.

Seven firefighters, including four from Engine Co. 216, rushed to him and stayed by his side, refusing to leave him. They pulled him under the scaffolding of a nearby building and attempted to revive him, even though it had become obvious that he'd sustained catastrophic injuries. Fr. Mychal Judge administered last rites to Danny before himself dying the collapse of the first tower.

Danny was a hero in both life and in death.
It seemes that whether Danny had made it into the tower that day or not, his life was somehow destined to end regardless. You see, that tower collapsed moments later, and Danny would have most likely been lost.
But because he died, and his friends refused to leave his side, they were saved from certain death, also. When Dan lost his life, he saved those of his friends.

Out of everything I've come to know about Danny Suhr, I am forever overwhelmed by the face that -- I mean, he had to know it was beyond bad -- and yet he put himself in grave danger to help others. How could any mere human being climb 60, 70, 80 flights of stairs with 100 pounds of equipment strapped to them? Forget logic. Forget danger. Dan went anyway.

That's the true definition of a superhero.

Daniel Suhr, in addition to over 300 other members of the New York Fire Department, were among the first casualties in a war that most of us never thought we'd ever have to fight, but will be fighting for generations to come.
They died trying to rescue others. And when you look at the pure evil of that day, their extraordinary actions stand out in stark contrast.

Guys like Danny Suhr remind us of the good in this world, and encourage us to do our best to live like them.
They represent all of America -- the 'good guys' who seek to make the world a better place.
For as many people perished on 9/11, many heroes were born. Because of the events of 9-11-01, we learned the our nation was about more than financial strength and power. We were all one family.
It is love that makes up this country.

I wish I could have met you, Danny.
Thanks for changing my world for the better anyway.

And to the entire Suhr family, my sincere condolences, my utmost gratitude, and my deepest respect.
You should be eternally proud.

Labels: 9-11, 9/11, Daniel Suhr, Danny Suhr, Sept. 11, September 11, World Trade Center

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