Remembering the Legacies of 9/11

Sept. 11, 2007 — -- While Sept. 11 is a tough anniversary for all Americans, it's especially difficult for those who were directly touched by the attacks.

Their loved ones are gone, but in so many cases, from their inspirational lives has sprung a legacy of tremendous gifts that continue to helps others each and every day.

In a haunting foreshadowing, two years before 9/11, Linda Jacobs Kalodner was trapped with her 6-week-old twins, Isabel and Jacob, in a burning apartment building in New York City. There was no way out of the black smoke on the ninth floor.

"My throat was starting to hurt, my eyes starting to hurt and outside was all smoke and blackness," Kalodner said.

New York City firefighter Matthew Barnes came to the rescue, a bright light in the darkness.

Kalodner said she will never forget his grace and dedication to protecting her infants. "I was saying 'You have to come back. I have twins, I have twins.'"

And, as he later told reporters, Barnes did go back.

"She indicated that she had two children and she proceeded to hand them to me," Barnes said at the time.

He was her knight in shining armor that day.

"I totally trusted him. I totally trusted him and he made me feel like I should trust him," she said.

Kalodner and her family were devastated when Barnes died with so many others on 9/11. The twins, of course, don't remember their rescue, but now say they are grateful for the gift of life Barnes gave them.

The twins are now boisterous 8-year-olds.

"I'm glad I got out of there because without Matthew Barnes I'd be dead right now," Jacob said. "He told us the lesson of giving by basically giving his life to other people because he was saving us."

"I think that our experience gave us, taught us to love each other more," Kalodner said.

Barnes was an angel, the family agrees.

"His spirit is in our hearts," Jacob's twin sister, Isabel, said.