Joe
Pfeifer
It was Sunday, February 3, 2002, and people around the country
were watching the Super Bowl.
I came into the 10-10 Firehouse inside the Ground Zero site
to warm up, eat and watch the Super Bowl halftime show.
Meanwhile, Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer, who had played
a large role in the rescue operations at the World Trade
Center when the planes first went
in, was at his firehouse doing paperwork. The football game
was about to begine when over our receivers came the words
that Joe's younger brother, Lieutenant Kevin Pfeifer of
Engine 33, had been found in the North Tower area. Chief
Pfeifer got the call at his firehouse and raced down to
Ground Zero. I would later watch and photograph Joe carrying
his brother's flag-draped body
through the site and up to the Chaplain waiting on the exit
ramp. As I heard the Chaplain's prayer over the motorola
receiver, I remember setting my camera down to salute two
American heroes. After the prayer, Chief Joseph Pfeifer
proudly and bravely walked his younger brother Kevin out
of Ground Zero. In this photograph, Joe cradles the flag
that was used to cover his brother's
body when he was found in the North Tower area. Chief Pfeifer
is now the Assistant Chief of Operations and works at FDNY
headquarters.
