Kevin Cosgrove Biography
Kevin Michael Cosgrove (January 6, 1955 – September 11, 2001) was an American insurance senior business executive and victim of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. He served as a vice president at Aon Corporation.
Cosgrove is known for the 9-1-1 call he made during his final moments, which ended with him screaming from inside the South Tower as it collapsed. The recording was used during the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only criminal trial to result from the attacks. Cosgrove's last words made international headlines.
Personal life
Cosgrove and his family lived in West Islip, New York.
September 11 attacks
Cosgrove was a vice president of claims for Aon Corporation and a fire warden for the company. According to the 9-1-1 recording played during the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, Cosgrove was located in the northwest corner of the 105th floor in the South Tower, overlooking the World Financial Center when he called 9-1-1 at 9:54 am.
In the recording, Cosgrove tells 9-1-1 dispatchers that he is calling from survivor Jonathan 'Jon' Ostrau's office (Cosgrove misspelled it as John Ostaru) and that he has two other individuals with him, including fellow victim Douglas Cherry. Cosgrove tells the operator: "My wife thinks I'm all right; I called and said I was leaving the building and that I was fine, and then bang!" A 9-1-1 operator later calls him; he answers: "Hello. We're looking in we're overlooking the Financial Center. Three of us. Two broken windows." A rumbling sound is then heard as the building starts to collapse. Cosgrove is heard to scream "Oh, God! Oh—!" in fear. His call immediately cuts off and ends as the South Tower collapses at 9:59 am.
Aftermath and legacy
Cosgrove's name is located on Panel S-60 of the National September 11 Memorial's South Pool.Cosgrove's remains were found in the rubble. He was buried on September 22, 2001, at St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery in Huntington, New York. He was 46 years old. He was survived by his wife, Wendy Cosgrove, a schoolteacher, and his three children.
Wendy Cosgrove testified during the punishment phase of Moussaoui's trial, in which prosecutors sought the death penalty for Moussaoui. Wendy Cosgrove testified about her husband's last moments when he was trapped on the South Tower's 105th floor, and jurors heard an audio tape of Cosgrove's 9-1-1 phone call in which he told a dispatcher: "We're not ready to die." Wendy Cosgrove also testified that their oldest son, who was 12 on the day of the attacks, suffered a decline in his academic performance and had developed anger and self-destructive habits as well as trouble with the law, while their middle child, who was 9 at the time of the attacks, exhibited self-mutilation for which she has undergone therapy.
At the National 9/11 Memorial, Cosgrove is memorialized at the South Pool on Panel S-60.
See also
- Casualties of the September 11 attacks
- Benjamin Clark
- Melissa Doi
- Frank De Martini
- Betty Ong
References
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kevin Cosgrove.- Kevin Cosgrove at Find a Grave
- Exhibit P200017 of United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui, recording of Cosgrove's last phone call with footage of the South Tower