By: Liz Gonzalez and Juan Flores
"If you know a soldier, or a family of a soldier, thank them for this outcome," said Andrew Isolano, a 9/11 first responder.
It's been almost ten years of waiting and hoping for some sense of closure for Andrew Isolano and others whose lives were directly affected by the orders of Osama bin Laden.
"Finally a feeling of closure. I couldn't believe it. Imagine waiting for ten years for a trial so to speak," said Isolano.
Isolano was a New York City firefighter on September 11, 2001. He had just finished his shift when the attacks happened.
He jumped in to help people escape the Twin Towers. Some of them were his own fellow firefighters who lost their lives.
While Isolano and others say news of bin Laden's death is a relief, it's still a story without a happy ending. Instead, they say they're left with a greater sense of peace.
"When something like this happens, it really helps me put another chapter behind me," Isolano said.
Marc Unger's son, Daniel, joined the military after seeing the September 11th attacks play out on television.
Daniel died in Iraq at just 19-years-old.
His goal was simple: he wanted to help others taste freedom from dictators and radical leaders.
His mother Lynda says Daniel would be proud of his fellow servicemembers who killed the man considered the face of global terrorism.
"With his young military mind, I think that he would have wished he could've been in on it," Lynda Unger said.
"For ten years, I prayed that Osama bin Laden would turn from his sins and repent. He chose his own destruction," Marc Unger said.
Lieutenant Commander Otis Vincent Tolbert grew up in Lemoore and played softball at Fresno State.
He was a Gulf War Veteran and had been working at the Pentagon for more than a year when the attacks took place.
His widow, Shari Tolbert, sent KMPH News this statement:
"The intelligence community gets all of the credit. No matter which party is in office, the same men and women do the daily grind: crazy hours, months away from their families, stressful work, etc. Thank you to our friends in the intelligence community. It's the community Vince was proud to be a part of and the community who went and did the work."
