Bound by loss, split on justice: 9/11 families reflect 24 years later

"Although he had once made more money as an electrician, she said, firefighting was his passion, so he switched careers when his wife, Laurie, told him, "Go for your dream, Doug." Miller recalls him as devoted to his job, but also playful, sometimes staging "practice fire drills" at home by tying ropes around his kids' waists and lowering them from a banister."

"Eagleson was 15 when his father, Bruce, was killed. He remembers his dad as "a character in all senses of the word." Once, when Brett's mother, Gail, said she wished someone else would help cook, "my dad decided, well, I'm going to make dinner, and when I make dinner, I'm going to go to the nth degree," so he not only made a meal, but also created a gourmet-style menu for his family to choose from, Eagleson recalled."

"Both men died 24 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001. Bruce, a vice president at the Westfield Group, was working temporarily out of the World Trade Center. Doug, part of Staten Island's elite firefighting unit Rescue 5, was among the first responders who rushed in. Bruce was 53 and left behind a wife and three sons. Doug was 34 and left behind a wife and three daughters."

Brett Eagleson and Elizabeth Miller lost their fathers in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Miller's father, Douglas, left higher-paying electrician work to pursue firefighting and engaged playfully with his daughters. Eagleson's father, Bruce, worked temporarily at the World Trade Center as a Westfield Group vice president and was remembered as energetic and inventive at home. Bruce was 53 and left a wife and three sons; Doug was 34 and left a wife and three daughters. Nearly 24 years later, the men accused of planning the attacks have not faced trial amid legal disputes tied to alleged CIA torture of defendants.

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