Statuette, Recovered

In 1999, native New Yorker Jeffrey Keating joined the Marine Corps, fulfilling his lifelong aspiration to serve in the United States military. At the time, he was pursuing a BA in Language Studies and Marketing  at Pace University in lower Manhattan.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Keating was in Queens, on the Manhattan-bound train headed to Pace University in lower Manhattan were he was pursing a BA in Language Studies and Marketing. He when he learned about a second plane strike on the World Trade Center, Keating immediately realized that a terrorist attack was underway. Feeling an urgency to contribute to the emergency response, Keating went back to Long Island to retrieve his medical kit and anything else he could grab. He put on his Marine Corps uniform and came into midtown Manhattan via an inbound train that was operating exclusively for emergency service personnel. From 33rd Street, he “ran” down to the World Trade Center site, passing St. Vincent’s Hospital along the way where a Marine Corps truck was stationed.  Arriving at the disaster scene after both buildings had collapsed, Keating joined the search for survivors, vowing that he “wanted to find every face I had walked by in that neighborhood.” Instead, however, he found only isolated objects: a black and white “headshot” photograph of Fiduciary Trust Company International’s CEO and a New York City landmarks souvenir that prominently featured the Twin Towers. The remarkable condition of these small, seemingly vulnerable objects, compared to the immense destruction that surrounded him, motivated Keating to save them. He tucked the objects into the cargo pockets of his uniform pants, returned to the pile, and forgot about them. At the conclusion of his service at Ground Zero several days later, Keating packed up his dust-covered uniform with the two items still buried deep in its pockets. He rediscovered these items years later and proceeded to donate the photograph and souvenir to the 9/11 Museum in 2016.

In June 2004, Keating was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in support of “Operation Phantom Fury,” also known as the “Second Battle of Fallujah,” a joint American, Iraqi, and British offensive which intensified in November and December 2004. Keating served as a Field Radio Operator with the 6th Communications Battalion during his nine-month combat deployment.