When the boy appeared to be in stable condition, Beckwith left the hospital and went to the World Trade Center site after he saw the South Tower collapse on television.

Even though he had been retired for seven years from the New York City Fire Department, he grabbed his old gear and bluffed his way past the blockades and barricades that had been set up and began helping with bucket brigades and missing person searches.

[3] On September 14, after Beckwith and some men had unearthed a fire engine buried in rubble from the fallen buildings, they tested its stability as a stand from which to speak, and a Secret Service agent ordered him to help President Bush onto the platform.

Beckwith also had a first edition print of the cover, which was encased in a display box together with a flag that waved at Ground Zero, given to him by President Bush.

[3] Beckwith visited 11 times with President Bush, traveled and spoke extensively,[3] and dedicated much of his activity to fundraising for the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation.

[3][2] On February 25, 2002, in a White House ceremony together with Governor George Pataki of New York state, Beckwith presented to Bush the bullhorn the president had used to address workers at the World Trade Center site just days after the attacks.