SYRACUSE -- "Wow" was the reaction Syracuse Fire Chief Mark McLees had when he picked up his newspaper Monday morning and read that Osama bin Laden had been killed.
The death has special meaning for McLees. He was one of a small group of Syracuse firefighters who travelled to New York City to help out after 9/11. After 343 New York City firefighters were killed in the collapse of the twin towers, fire departments across the nation responded to the call for assistance. McLees says he was assigned to an ambulance corps at ground zero to help rescuers. Two weeks later, he returned as a member of the "critical incident team" who provided counselling and help to fellow firefighters who had been traumatized by the tragedy.
McLees hopes that bin Laden's death provides some measure of closure for the families of firefighters and others who lost their lives in 9/11. "You know you get punched, you want to at least be able to punch back...maybe with this they got a chance to punch back." Though he sees it as a victory, McLees now wonders if other terrorists will attempt to seek retribution against the United States.
Captain Paul Cousins agrees that the country should be vigilant about a possible reprisal, but he's glad bin Laden has been eliminated. Cousins also travelled to New York City to help rescue efforts there after 9/11. Though it happened 10 years ago, "I remember it like it was just yesterday." Cousins said.
"I think it's a victory in terms of the 343 families that lost firefighters and the police officers that lost their lives... but I don't see how that can be really a victory, it doesn't bring their loved ones back. They got the bad guy... about time." Cousins said.
