The family of hero 9/11 firefighter Gary Geidel have uncovered new details about his death, 25 years after the tragic day. His body was never found, but his wife Tillie and their daughter, also named Tillie, have learned that Gary died in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, not the North Tower as previously thought.
In a remarkable discovery, they found a disposable camera with undeveloped film in their loft. When developed, it contained six photos of Gary taken in 2000, a year before 9/11. The family had never seen these images before, and they brought back emotional memories ahead of the 25th anniversary.
Disposable Camera Discovery Brings Emotional Memories
Tillie junior has compiled an emotional book called “9/11 Through The Eyes of A Daughter - The story of Gary Geidel an American hero.” She said: “I found an old camera in my attic and brought it to Walmart to be developed. I had no idea what was on the camera or if the photos were still okay to be developed. I was praying somehow my dad would be on the roll. I picked the pictures up, and started to flip through them, and there was a picture of my dad. He was in about six pictures on that roll. It was amazing how I found new pictures of him after 19 years. What a gift from God!”
She added: “After years of searching through every video and photo of 9/11 I could get my hands on, we finally found my dad. A few people, including my aunt, sent my mom and I video footage of firemen on 9/11. The man they thought was my father turned out to be someone else, but we actually spotted my dad in the background. Turns out we were right all along, and he was never with Rescue One that morning. He was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, not the North Tower. With my father's death being so public, this is one thing we get to have to ourselves. That was the footage leading up to my dad's last moments on this earth, and that is very private. I am still uncovering things since then.”
Family Reflects on Pride and Loss
Shortly after 9/11, a reporter interviewed Tillie at her and Gary's home on Staten Island. Tillie junior was just seven years old. Recalling the memory, she said: “I vividly remember you coming and I was up the stairs. Your photographer affectionately called me 'sausage' and I've always remembered that. It's been very difficult for me and my mum. But we both remember my dad with great pride. We are so proud of him. We do feel he sends us messages - 'pennies from heaven' we call them.”
Her mum said: “I really only cope through my faith and my family. That's what keeps us going. Knowing that, you know, some day we know we're going to see him again. So it's not an easy road not having him there. It's an everyday struggle. It's an everyday thing.” She added: “It's particularly difficult in the run-up the anniversary. Things get really emotional, especially, you know, when the anniversary is coming up. It just, it builds, you know. You could feel it coming up. It's usually around mid-July. You could feel it, like, starting to build. Even though it's something that you live with every day, you know, I mean, you're not sitting there crying every day. It just becomes more and more intense. You know, you do live with it, but when it comes closer to the anniversary every year, it gets more intense. We are so, so extremely proud of him. He was such a good man. But not for just being a hero. For being a father, for being a family man. Yes, a family man first. And he was an all-around good person. If you ask anybody from where he came from or will work with. But anyone from the town of Tottenville. In the town, on his softball team, everywhere. No one ever had anything bad to say about him. His colleagues who survived have been very kind and supportive of us.”
