Another victim to remember - UPDATED

As a participant in the 2,996 Project I have been reading some of the tributes my fellow bloggers have written and have been looking at the list of names of all of the victims. One name in particular popped out at me: Enrique Antonio Gomez. Enrique Antonio Gomez was the name of my paternal grandfather that died when I was a kid. I clicked on the blog of the person assigned to honor Mr. Gomez and found that the blogger has not posted anything yet and that he hasn't posted anything in several weeks. I do not want Enrique Antonio Gomez to go without a tribute so I have decided to honor him here in addition to Nancy Yuen Ngo.

UPDATE: The blogger that was assigned to honor Enrique did come through and has posted his tribute here.

Unfortunately I have not been able to find a a picture of Enrique Antonio Gomez but I was able to find out some details of his life. Enrique Antonio Gomez worked at the famous Windows on the World restaurant in Tower 1 at the World Trade Center. He was 42 at the time of his death. He was not alone, but accompanied by his brother Jose, who also worked at the restaurant, when he died. 71 other Windows on the World employees were also killed. Amazingly the two had two other brothers who worked in the restaurant but were not present at the time of the attacks. The Gomez brothers were from the Dominican Republic.

The following profile of the Gomez brothers was published in The New York Times on October 1, 2001.

Two of a Kind

In life and in tragedy, Enrique and Jose Gomez were brothers determined to share every moment together. They worked together, slicing vegetables and cleaning seafood, in the kitchen of Windows on the World. At times they lived together. Even when they did not, Enrique 42, and Jose 44, both fathers of teenagers, always made time to dream together, envisioning themselves one day sitting in the stands at Yankee Stadium, just like the people on television, sharing beers and rooting for the boys in pinstripes.

For the Gomez family, there is peace in knowing that the brothers disappeared as they lived. "So many people down there, they had no one," said Maglais Gomez, a niece. "At least Enrique and Jose, they had each other to comfort."

And there is also this: On Sept. 11, Miguel and Ramone Gomez, who also worked in the kitchen with their older brothers, Enrique and Jose, had been scheduled to work, but were not there when the planes hit.

Here's one of the messages I found about Enrique:

Enrique I will always love you. You're one of the best persons I ever met in my life God bless you and rest in peace.

The name Enrique Antonio Gomez has taken on a new meaning for me. Hopefully it will for my readers too.

Here's a link to the 2,996 project tribute for Jose Gomez and the 9/11 Victims Quilt links for Enrique and Jose.