How
do you “remember” someone you never knew? That was the question I
asked myself as I thought abut signing up for the 2,996 Project. I
signed up and decided to figure out the “how” later. I’d read a lot of
the profiles done in previous years but was still
intimidated…especially after beginning to read about my assigned name…
GLENN J. WINUK
A name, and my memory of 11 September 2001, was what I started out
with. “What is a name?” The answer, I am still discovering, is many
things. As I began my research I realized I’d been assigned a hero…in the truest sense of the word. A man who ran into the danger.
Mr. Winuk had been a volunteer firefighter for 20
years with the Jericho, New York Fire Department. On that tragic
morning of 11 September, Mr. Winuk was in his office at Holland & Knight
a block away from the World Trade Center. After helping evacuate his
own workplace, his first instinct (a hero’s instinct) was to do what
he could to help.
“Glenn was last seen outside the recently evacuated New
York office at approximately 9:30 a.m., donning some simple emergency
gear — a mask and gloves,” Robert R Feagin, managing partner, and
William J. Honan, executive partner, said in a statement.
He had also been involved in the evacuation of the towers after the 1993 bombing.
I thought about a poem that was sent to me after my mother passed away. It is called The Dash.
I began to do the same thing I’d done with my mother, making a list of
descriptors…words I could almost “see” between the dates…the essence of
“who” that is represented in the dash. Reading the Legacy.com Guest Book for Mr. Winuk, the words of people who knew him stood out on the pages.
1961
-
hero…special…intelligent…sterling example…funny…selfless… kind..caring…
good..integrity…helpful…gentle…giving…good hearted…substance…warm…
generous…compassionate…hell of a guy…calm…honorable…strength…
trusted…powerful…modest…genuine…sincere…humble…patriotic…gifted…
2001
Just four days before the 8th anniversary of 9/11 Glenn Winuk has posthumously received the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor.
From Newsday:
For Seymour and Elaine Winuk, having their son
posthumously recognized with the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor Monday was
bittersweet.
Just four days before the eighth anniversary of the terrorist
attacks, the Winuk family gathered at the Jericho park named after
Glenn Winuk to receive the recognition they had long been seeking.
“We’re sorry we lost him,” said Seymour Winuk, 78, of Jericho. “But
he’s getting an award that is well deserved for many reasons.”
A 19-year volunteer firefighter for the Jericho Fire Department,
Glenn Winuk was hailed Monday for his willingness to put himself in
harm’s way to rescue people. He responded to the crash in 1990 of
Avianca Flight 52 in Cove Neck and three years later to the bombing of
the World Trade Center.
And on Sept. 11, 2001 when the first plane hit the North Tower,
Winuk, an attorney in a law firm nearby, helped evacuate the building
he was working in, then rushed toward the chaos.
Winuk, 40, died when the South Tower collapsed. Six months later,
his remains were found next to those of other would-be rescuers.
“He was always running to help people,” his father said.
Because Winuk had not been an active member of the fire department
since 1998, the Department of Justice refused to recognize him as a
qualified rescuer who died in the line of duty.
I think it is appropriate to use the paraphrased Gen. Patton quote used every week in the Wednesday Hero posts.
We Should Not Only Mourn The Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
NEVER FORGET