David Handschuh
Racing toward an emergency on the heels of a fire truck was nothing new for David Handschuh. As a photographer for The Daily News, covering “spot news” — events as they happen — he was no stranger to unfolding drama. In fact, Handschuh knew the firefighters on the back of the rig in front of him. They waved to each other as they barreled down the West Side highway.
Handschuh would never see those men again. Eleven firefighters from Rescue One would perish on 9/11. In fact, Handschuh himself narrowly missed being killed. To this day, he gets together with the men who carried him to safety from the rubble of the collapsed towers.
“I regularly meet with the rescuers, and we hug and cry and go for beers,” he says. “There is nothing I can do to adequately say ‘Thank you’ for allowing me to live.”