From Shanksville's scorched woods, two arborists emerged as unsung heroes of 9/11 — Hannah Beier

From Shanksville's scorched woods, two arborists emerged as unsung heroes of 9/11

I had the honor of spending time with arborists Mark Trautman and Ben Haupt for Reuters 20 years after the attacks on September 11, 2001 and learn of their heroic work after the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. ‘Before the al Qaeda attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the local arborists climbed trees only to take down branches. When the hijacked airliner slammed into soil in a fiery explosion, turning the woods near Shanksville into a gruesome crime scene suspended above the ground, the two men would be called in for a task that transformed their lives. For nearly a week, they clambered through the blackened canopy garlanded with wreckage and gore. They plucked down vital evidence for the prosecution of al Qaeda plotters and found remains for grieving families with no bodies to bury. They were among the most extraordinary yet overlooked early responders to the attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed, including all 33 passengers, seven crew members and four hijackers aboard Flight 93.

Arborist Mark Trautman, who worked to recover the debris from the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 near Shanksville, poses for a portrait in his tree climbing gear outside his home in Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania, September 2, 2021.

Mark Trautman holds his badge from when he was on site during 9/11 at his home in Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania, September 2, 2021.

Arborist Ben Haupt, who worked to recover the debris from the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 near Shanksville, poses for a portrait in his tree climbing gear at his home in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, September 2, 2021.

Flowers are seen at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville in Stoystown, Pennsylvania, August 31, 2021.

(L-R) Mark Trautman and Ben Haupt pose for a portrait in Stoystown, Pennsylvania, September 2, 2021.

Three of arborist Ben Haupt's (not pictured) children, Jeremiah Haupt, 8, Ben Haupt Jr., 12, and Janelle Haupt, 14, build a fire outside their home in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, September 2, 2021.

John Larsen, who worked as an FBI special agent when the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, poses for a portrait at his home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, September 5, 2021.

(L-R) Arborists Mark Trautman and Ben Haupt along with two Haupt's daughters, June Haupt, 16, and Janelle Haupt, 14, look out at the hemlock grove in Stoystown, Pennsylvania, September 2, 2021.

Arborist and preacher Ben Haupt poses for a portrait at Grace Baptist Church in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, September 2, 2021.