A wonderful article with some background about Bob Beckwith, the retired fireman who stood with President Bush at Ground Zero when he gave his "I can hear you..." speech can be found here.

This excerpt perfectly illustrates why I'm so happy to have someone like the Bush in the White House:

His picture with the president appeared in newspapers everywhere and, a few days later, on the cover of Time Magazine. Then a letter arrived from the White House inviting him and his family to visit the president on Feb. 25.

An aide told them the visit would be just a few minutes. Beckwith, his wife, their daughter and their two grandchildren visited Bush and his wife, Laura, for nearly an hour, touring the Oval Office and the Rose Garden.

When Beckwith's granddaughter, Megan, 10, told Bush she missed school to visit him, he said, "Then we will have to write your teacher a letter."

Bush wrote that Megan was unable to attend school because she was visiting the White House