Among Many, 4 Who Didn’t Make It

Among the thousands of lives presumed lost in Tuesday’s attacks on New York’s World Trade Center, authorities so far have managed to confirm frustratingly few.

Six days after terrorists flew jetliners into the skyscrapers, rescue workers continued to paw, cut and shovel through the mountain of debris, searching first for signs of life but also for bodily remains.

Several New York firefighters, about 300 of whom are missing, have finally been identified as among the dead.

Here are the stories of some of the people who died:

George Howard

It was George Howard’s day off, but he was a rescuer through and through.

A police officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, he worked these days at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Yet the 44-year-old was a World Trade Center veteran: He was among the first to lend aid after terrorists bombed the complex in 1993.

He lived in Hicksville, Long Island. When word of last week’s disaster reached him, he drove to JFK, got a rescue truck and raced--alone--to the now-collapsing World Trade Center towers.

A flying sheet of steel struck and killed him as he ran into the dust and smoke.

“I’ve gotten so many calls about how great my son was, from people whose lives he saved in fires and accidents,” said his mother, Arlene Howard. “I never realized how much he did.”

A 16-year Port Authority employee, George Howard taught rescue techniques to firefighters at the Nassau County Fire Academy. In his free time, he was a volunteer firefighter.

“He was extremely knowledgeable about rescuing techniques and equipment and was highly dependable,” said Guy Danese, president of the Port Authority’s Patrolmen’s Benevolent Assn.

The father of two sons ages 13 and 19, Howard spent many off-duty hours coaching children’s ice hockey and lacrosse.

“He was just a very helpful, very warm, big-hearted, humble type of guy,” said older brother Bob Howard.

On Friday night, during a private meeting with President Bush and families of other victims of the attack, Howard’s mother gave the president her son’s badge.

“He died trying to get people out of that building,” Danese said.

William Feehan

“He was just a hero, you know?”

So the man said of his father, William Feehan, New York City’s deputy fire commissioner, who was buried Saturday. He was killed Tuesday at his command post at the foot of the south tower when it fell. He was 71.

“He just loved everything about being a firefighter and a fire chief,” said his son, William Feehan. “He loved the department history, and he really had wonderful friends in the department. He loved what he did.”

The elder Feehan served in the Army in World War II and Korea. The son of a firefighter himself, Feehan joined the department in 1959. Another son, John, is also a New York City firefighter.

On Saturday, hundreds turned out to pay their respects to Feehan, who was buried in Queens.

“Such an honorable goodbye,” son William said.

Daniel Brethel

New York Fire Capt. Daniel Brethel, 44, died in the collapse of the south tower. He was supposed to be off duty that day.

“He died doing what he loved to do,” said a cousin, Thomas Brethel. “He’s my hero.”

He left behind his wife, Carol, and two daughters, Meghan and Kristen.

When Thomas Brethel thinks about his cousin, he said, he’ll focus on their years as children splashing in swimming pools or playing Wiffle ball in the backyard.

“That’s how I’ll remember him, smiling and always helping people,” Thomas Brethel said.

Keith David McHeffey

Keith McHeffey, 31, was able to fulfill his love of the shore by living in Monmouth Beach, N.J., with his girlfriend. Though it was a long commute to the World Trade Center, where he worked on the 104th floor as an equity trader for a division of Cantor Fitzgerald, at least he got to spend some of those 90 minutes aboard a ferry.

A graduate of Salisbury State University in Maryland, he remained close with college buddies and enjoyed mountain biking, basketball and softball. He is survived by his parents and two sisters.

Lately, he had looked forward to relocating to an office that the firm planned to open within weeks in New Jersey, said his mother, Sherry McHeffey of Rumson, N.J. “He was very happy with his new job and looking forward to coming down closer to home.”

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Times staff writers Stuart Pfeifer and Scott Martelle contributed to this story.