Patrick & James Dowdell

Patrick and James Dowdell are the sons of New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Lieutenant Kevin Dowdell of Rescue 4, who was killed on September 11, 2001. At the time of the attacks, Patrick and James were 18 and 17 years old, respectively.

On the morning of 9/11, Patrick was in his freshman dorm room at Iona College. He had the television on while he was getting ready for class and that’s how he learned about what happened at the World Trade Center. Initially, he did not think his father was going to be there as Lieutenant Dowdell’s station was in Queens, a decent distance from Downtown Manhattan. Meanwhile, James was a senior at Xavier High School on 16th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue in Manhattan. He recalls sitting in class and the school going into lockdown, which, in 2001, was unusual. Later in the evening, Patrick called his mother to inquire about his father’s whereabouts. His mother confirmed that his father was at work that day and they did not know much else yet.

Two days later, Patrick returned home to his mother’s house. At this point, Patrick, James, and their mother began to think that the worst had happened. As the days went on, the Dowdell family would look at the front door each time it opened, hoping it would be their loved one walking through. James and Patrick recall the hardest part about the situation was the hope fading as the minutes passed by. There was never an “aha” moment that Lieutenant Dowdell was gone. Rather, it was a gradual diminishment of hope.

Patrick and James recall their mother sending them back to school, setting the tone for them right off the bat. She informed them that they would still be held to the same standards, life would go on, and they were going to be together. With that, they went back to school and waited for information on their father. They later found out that Rescue 4 was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when it collapsed.

Following 9/11, Patrick and James were able to go to Ground Zero. Rescue 4, having had such a presence there, welcomed them with open arms as the sons of Lieutenant Dowdell. They proudly became part of the team for the search and recovery efforts.

Patrick recalls Ground Zero looking and feeling frozen in time and he distinctly remembers the smell. Those aiding in the search and recovery efforts were taught to identify a specific smell to determine if there were remains nearby. James remembers that when a fireman or policeman was recovered, the whole site shut down for a period of time to honor them. The remains of an individual would be placed in a stokes basket, which is a rescue basket, followed by an American flag being draped over it. Then, people at the site would line up, give a hand salute, and the company that the individual served with would carry their fallen brother to an ambulance. There, the deceased would be given last rites, before being taken to the morgue.

Patrick recalls the sense of patriotism and duty he felt at Ground Zero. Through their actions there, he and his brother were helping to give other families of the fallen closure. It gave them both an immense sense of pride to be a part of that.

The brothers spent most of their time at Ground Zero, but when they weren’t there, they were at a funeral, a memorial or a wake almost every weekend. They played the bagpipes at these ceremonies with the FDNY pipe band.

As efforts to remove debris from Ground Zero continued, Patrick and James became more hopeful that they would find their father. They worked tirelessly with the idea that when they found him, they would be at the front of the stokes basket, they would drape the American flag over their father, and they would help carry him out of the site. They never considered that their father’s remains may not be found. James recalls how tough it was when they realized that eventually the World Trade Center was going to be broom swept and that they would never recover their father’s remains.

The funeral for FDNY Lieutenant Kevin Dowdell was held on April 20, 2002. At the cemetery, Patrick and James were dressed in full FDNY kilts. They played “Going Home,” Patrick on the bagpipes and James on the snare drum, as their father’s casket was lowered into the ground.

While Patrick and James never had the opportunity to carry their father out of Ground Zero, reflecting on that time, their father’s funeral was the finish for their journey. Patrick and James were filled with a sense of pride for seeing it through to the end.

In 2006, Patrick went on to graduate from West Point, something his father had encouraged him to do. He was commissioned as an officer in the United States Military and served two deployments, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

Following in his father’s footsteps, James became a firefighter in the FDNY. On what would have been his father’s 70th birthday, James was promoted to Lieutenant, the same rank his father held. Because Kevin Dowdell was killed in the line of duty, his badge number was reserved and James was given his father’s Lieutenant badge upon his promotion.