Dear Ann,
God Bless you and the girls. Moe

Dear Anne,

We were on vacation from England last week when we came to your talk. After hearing about Bruce, we had to put a face to his name, so we searched for him in the 9/11 museum and then again on the internet when we got home.

I’m so glad that we came along, it allowed us to appreciate that this wasn’t something that we all saw on the news, but this affected real people. My daughter has gone back to school today, and she has decided to speak about Bruce in her ‘show and tell’ after our holiday.

Your story truly touched us and we will certainly be keeping his memory alive, a real hero and an inspiration of dedication, selflessness and bravery.

The Douglas family – Nottingham, England.

Dear Anne, My name is Pastor Robby Davis also known as Firefighter Davis. I am writing here with tears forming in my eyes. Believe it or not I am 48 years old and a rookie with Monroe County Fire Rescue in the Florida Keys. I am writing you both as a firefighter and a pastor. Your husband is a hero both as a firefighter and as a brother in Christ. I recently received an email from a young lady in my church who is from NJ named Grace who told of how you and your families faithful during 9/11 later brought her to Christ. I think your husband will be well pleased that his sacrifice on 9/11 was used by God to bring someone to Himself. Thank you for your faithfulness and may God bless your family. I look forward to meeting your husband on the streets of glory!

Thank you for your service an courageousness that our human kind first an not your family ! THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A TRUE HERO !!! HEROS SACRIFICE EVERYTHING INCLUDING THEMSELVES

Mrs. Van Hine, I am a fire fighter in Oklahoma. I wanted to let you know that today we climbed in memorial of those that passed. I climbed in memory of your husband. We haven’t forgotten.

Dear Anne, I knew Bruce for a few years as an arborist. He would care for my trees every year. In spring 2001 he was on my property and the ladder fell with him tied to it and he cracked a few ribs. I felt terrible. It was that day he shared that he was a NY Firefighter, as we’re all his buddies working with him.
I had my husband ( a baker) make him a cheesecake and called him. When he came by to pick it up he told me he was going to take “his girls” cross country or out west ( I can’t remember exactly). He said they were getting older and soon might not want to go. He told me about you and your dancing and he just seemed so happy. I wished him a great vacation and said I’d see him next year.
It wasn’t until I read the names in the paper in October that I learned Bruce lost his life.
I think of him often, wonder how his summer trip with you and the girls was, and I cry for
you. I am so sorry for your loss. I will never forget Bruce.
God bless you and your family
Mary Dinos

I remember…
22 years later and this day is etched in my memory like its was minutes ago. I remember being in class in college and one of the kids said an airplane hit the World Trade Center. We thought nothing of it. Then some time goes by and someone else says another plane crashed into the towers. Everyone gets an uneasy feeling, an odd feeling. My Nextel cell phone rang in my pocket, “Dad.” He asked where I was and I said in class and he told me to get home immediately. Seconds later the teacher said school was canceled and please head home to your families. I remember I raced home listening to Howard Stern give updates and feeling pissed off and met up with my mom and dad at home, I still lived in GWL at the time. Somewhere during that time the 1st tower went down… The some time past and the 2nd tower went down… I remember popping in a VHS tape on a news channel and hit record and walked a block over to Robby’s house, my 2nd home. I remember sitting on his couch with some of the boys, Robby, BJ, Danny Boy, Mark Seeler, and Bubba. We were glued to the TV. Airplanes hitting the trade centers… now they were gone… hitting the pentagon… crashed in a field… apparently on its way to the white house…we were under attack. I remember we piled into one of our cars and raced to the top of the mountain (where you could see the NYC skyline) got out and stood on top of the peak and saw a sight ill never forget. The smoke. What was once our beautiful skyline was just a trail of smoke. It was shocking to say the least. I remember the anger. I remember popping VHS tape after VHS tape in to the recorder that night and into the next day. I remember listening and watching and learning about how may people died, firefighters, police, civilians, and the smoke, the smoke was crazy. I remember learning about Osama Bin Laden and Al Quada. I remember people were making makeshift walls with missing posters of loved ones on TV. I remember my mom and dad telling me that Bruce is missing. Bruce… Bruce was my across the street neighbor on Church street in Greenwood Lake for my whole life. He was FDNY. I remember Bruce was the nicest guy, along with his wife, 2 young daughters, and his big Rottweiler behind his picket fence that would bark at me until I reached over the fence to pet him. I remember playing in Bruce’s yard, slip n slides, bday parties, etc. I remember Bruce and my dad would do the “dad thing” and shoot the shit in the middle of the street. I remember Bruce giving me the thumbs from his front porch when I got my license and pulled away from my house for the 1st time. I remember Bruce climbing the trees on our property and trimming them, he was an arborist before joining FDNY. Bruce Van Hine died September 11th 2001 doing what he dreamed of doing his whole life, being FDNY. He was and will always be a hero to me and for my hometown. RIP Bruce and to all those lost that day.
I remember…