Bike from iconic 9/11 {photograph} turns into a part of Harley-Davidson Museum assortment

On Sept. 11, 2001, New York City firefighter Tim Duffy was off obligation, engaged on tuning up his Harley. He had simply pulled out a spark plug when he heard a big growth.

It was adopted by the sound of sirens.

Duffy reached for the cellphone to name his fireplace division. He was on the cellphone along with his spouse when he noticed the second airplane hit the Twin Towers from his kitchen window.

“I grabbed an FDNY T-shirt, went and put the spark plug back in and jumped on my bike,” Duffy advised WPR in an interview.

He rode first to his fireplace station, the place he watched the occasions unfold on tv earlier than placing on his turnout gear.

“My training said I gotta go,” Duffy mentioned. “The city of New York has never had a recall (bringing firefighters who are off duty), but I knew you know working downtown, knowing the area, knowing those buildings, I knew that it was just going to be massive casualties, and that any fireman that could get in should get in.”

Ultimately, off-duty firefighters had been referred to as in. But many, like Duffy, had been already making their method to the location of the assaults to assist.

“And again, the training we receive in New York City is second to none, to the point where you know I don’t remember being afraid at all,” he mentioned.

Duffy headed to the scene, serving to folks alongside the way in which and navigating particles on his Harley. That’s the place photojournalist Allan Tannenbaum captured his picture. 

“I heard a motorcycle, and I turned around, and here’s this firefighter in full turnout here, coming down Broadway on this Harley-Davidson,” Tannenbaum mentioned. “I got one frame of that, and that’s the picture of Tim Duffy.” 

It grew to become one of many best-known images of that day, a picture that symbolizes the bravery of first responders. Nearly 3,000 folks had been killed on 9/11, together with 343 New York City firefighters and paramedics and 71 legislation enforcement officers.

This month, in time for the twenty fifth anniversary of 9/11, Duffy’s motorbike has grow to be a part of the gathering on the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee.

Harley-Davidson reached out to Duffy asking him to show the bike. He stored all of it these years, however had to surrender using two years in the past after an accident.

“It was bittersweet because it was kind of my sanity,” He mentioned. “I always knew if I was having a tough day, I could jump on it and ride out for a couple hours, come back, and jump back into life.” 

Duffy mentioned many individuals have written letters to him saying the {photograph} impressed them to grow to be first responders. That helped him half methods along with his beloved bike. 

“The letters that I get from the veterans, especially, and the firefighters, they’re so heart-wrenching,” Duffy mentioned. “I just felt selfish if I kept it here in the garage.”

He mentioned one other museum in New York requested him to show his bike, however he ended up selecting Milwaukee’s museum as a substitute as a result of it’s the place Harley-Davidson was based. 

“I just love the area, I love the people.” Duffy mentioned. “It being home to Harley, I know it’s in good hands and they’ll take care of it. So I have no worries about it being there.”

Director of Harley-Davidson Experience Centers Megan Suardini mentioned this provides Midwesterners a take a look at a 9/11 historical past they don’t must journey far to see. 

“Our local community and Wisconsin residents and tourists can come down and check it out and see it for themselves, and not have to fly to New York City on 9/11 to honor and remember that tragic day,” Suardini mentioned. 

Suardini helped manage a ceremony this month to announce the show of the brand new bike. It included speeches from Duffy and Tannenbaum. She mentioned the viewers was very emotional listening to their tales. 

“Having Tim on stage, there was not a dry eye in the audience as he relayed his story,” she mentioned. “It’s more than a motorcycle. People don’t ride motorcycles; they are part of their motorcycle, so by having this artifact in the museum, you’re looking at a piece of history.”