Honorees

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Year Honored
2002
Honoree
Keith Fairben
Agency
New York Presbyterian Hospital
Agency City
New York
Agency State
New York
Last Call
9/11/2001
Cause of Death
Terrorist Attack
Biography
As a father looks diligently through the rubble of the fallen World Trade Center, tears fall from the eyes of those around him. They can only grieve as they feel a small part of the pain he must feel within. The father, a volunteer firefighter for 32 years, is searching though the giant heap of twisted metal and sacred dust for a reason. He is looking for a victim lost in the fallen Twin Towers; however, not just any victim, he is looking for his only child, his son.Keith G. Fairben, 24, lost his life while trying to save others injured in the worst terrorist attack in America on September 11, 2001. He responded to the call minutes after the first plane hit. The elder Fairben called his son on his cell phone: "Dad, I'm really busy. I am at the World Trade Center. I can't talk now." "Be careful", his father said, "Call us later." That was the last he heard from young Keith.Keith Fairben worked for New York Presbyterian Hospital of New York City, New York. He had worked there as a medic going on four years. Keith had completed an 11-month EMT program at North Shore University Hospital in May 2001. He seemed to have a penchant for saving people. "I know when they find him, he will be with someone. He wouldn't abandon anyone," stated Keith's father.No truer statement was ever made, that we are to bury our parents, not our children. Many parents have buried their children that were lost in the World Trade Center. However, what a beautiful legacy to quote, "He wouldn't abandon anyone."Honored 2002