Tom Kennedy was a New York City firefighter who died following the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center. His parents live at Smith Mountain Lake |
For the families who lost loved ones in the September 11th attacks, the death of Osama Bin Laden delivered a measure of justice after almost ten years.
Smith Mountain Lake residents Eileen and Bill Kennedy say the news has also brought them a sense of relief.
Their son, 36-year-old Tom Kennedy, was a New York City firefighter like his father before him.
On September 11th 2001, he responded with his ladder company to the south tower of the World Trade Center.
Tuesday afternoon Bill Kennedy said this was the first time in a long time that something about 9/11 has made him feel better.
"And when I heard last night that (Bin Laden) had died," Kennedy told News 7, "it sort of took my breath away. And I said, well, that's what he deserves, after he killed all those people."
Eileen Kennedy said it should have happened sooner. "At least it did happen," she said during an interview at the couple's Franklin County home. "We went on before. We'll go on again. You just feel a little bit stronger that they did find him."
The Kennedys say their son lives on in their memories and in the two young sons he left behind.
"He will always be our hero," Bill Kennedy told us. "He will always be our son."
