September 11th firefighter and first responder to Pentagon succumbed to injuries

This headline got my attention and that is pretty sad because it was not the word "gay" that did it. It was everything that came after it. Firefighter, first responder, Pentagon and September 11th. Who decided that what people do in their personal lives mattered so much they had to be added to a headline? While there are many articles that should include this disclosure, it was not necessary here.

Gay firefighter, first responder to Pentagon on 9/11, dies
Washington Blade
By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
June 7, 2013

Phillip Curtis McKee III, a businessman, stained glass artist and firefighter who was among the first to respond to the fire at the Pentagon caused by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack, died May 31 at a hospital in Fairfax City, Va. He was 41.

Family members attribute McKee’s death to complications from injuries and illness linked to three days of fighting the Pentagon fire following the 9/11 attack, including inhalation of toxic dust, a severe leg injury that resulted in him being wheel chair bound, and a prolonged bout of post-traumatic stress disorder.

McKee’s husband and partner of 15 years, Nopadon McKee, said the injuries forced Phillip McKee to retire from his job as a firefighter due to disability. Although he displayed “tremendous courage” in persevering as an artist, businessman, and author over the next 12 years, the injuries and his struggle with PTSD took its toll, Nopadon McKee said.

“He succumbed to his injuries,” a statement released by the family says.
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