LINCOLN — As he drove the final miles toward the thick column of smoke, John Huff, then Lincoln’s assistant fire chief, knew he had been tasked with heading search and rescue efforts at the seat of American national defense.
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John Huff, a former Lincoln fire chief and one of the officers who created Nebraska Task Force 1 in 1991, stands in the Nebraska Task Force 1 headquarters in Lincoln on Aug. 20. Task Force 1 is one of the nation’s original 25 urban search-and-rescue teams.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
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John Huff, former Lincoln fire chief and one of the officers that created Nebraska Task Force 1 in 1991, recalls his experience responding to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
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Firefighters struggle to contain the fire after the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757-200 crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. The Pentagon attack followed a similar attack, two hijacked passenger planes flown into the twin towers of the New York World Trade Center, on the same day, in what has been called the worst terrorist attack in history.
TSGT JIM VARHEGYI, USAF
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John Huff, former Lincoln fire chief and one of the officers who created Nebraska Task Force 1 in 1991, said the funding for Task Force 1 became easier to justify after 9/11.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
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Pat Borer talks about being deployed with Nebraska Task Force One to the World Trade Center soon after 9/11 during an interview at his home in Lincoln on Aug. 25. Recalling the scene, Borer said, “The collapse was so catastrophic that it just crushed everything."
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
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Pat Borer looks at a photo from when he was deployed with Nebraska Task Force 1 to the World Trade Center soon after 9/11. Borer was interviewed at his Lincoln home last month.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
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Pat Borer talks about the time he was deployed with Nebraska Task Force One to the World Trade Center soon after 9/11 during an interview at his home in Lincoln, on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
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A piece of steel recovered from the World Trade Center is framed at Nebraska Task Force 1 in Lincoln on Aug. 20.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
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Our top Omaha staff photos & videos of August 2026
Red Bull acrobatic pilot Kevin Coleman performs during the Defenders of Freedom Air and Space Show at Offutt Air Force Base on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
during the Juneteenth parade in Omaha on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Brett Lindstrom, non-partisan candidate for Nebraska governor, carries boxes of signatures for his nonpartisan governor bid into the Marriott Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Jeremiah Morris, 13, goes up for a shot against Omaha Police Capt. Paul Hanson during a National Night Out event at the Christie Heights Community Center in Omaha on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Conor Oberst of Bright Eye performs during Maha Festival at Heartland of America Park Omaha on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Frankie Harris celebrates with his caddie, Tyler Lipscomb, after defeating Alistair Docherty in a playoff to win the Pinnacle Bank Championship at Indian Creek Golf Club in Omaha on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, Creighton University President, center right, celebrates during a ribbon cutting ceremony for Creighton University's Magis Hall in Omaha on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. Magis Hall is Creighton University's newest residence hall that will house 409 sophomore students.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Nebraska's Andi Jackson and Harper Murray speak with reporters during a press conference at the Hawks Championship Center in Lincoln on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
N-yajah Jackson, 13, and the Royal House of Diamond dancers perform during the Juneteenth parade in Omaha on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Shelley Larsen, Assistant Managing Editor, is announced as the 2025 Dorr Award winner at the OWH Newsroom in Omaha on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Brinker Harding, Republican nominee in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional district discusses a variety of topics during an interview at his home in Omaha on July 17, 2026.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
A look inside Pinnacle Bank Arena during the Red-White Scrimmage in Lincoln on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Omaha Police officer Ryan Keele with his K-9 partner, Kano, at the Gary and Mary West Regional Canine Training Facility in Omaha on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Nebraska assistant coach Marcus Satterfield during a football practice at the Hawks Championship Center in Lincoln on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
A life jacket loaner station is seen at Wehrspann Lake in the Chalco Hills Recreation Area in Papillion on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. The station is dedicated to Wyatt "Stooky" Bernal, who died in July after drowning in the lake.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Coleen Sullivan, 11, reacts during her sixth grade class at Buffett Middle School in Omaha on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
Former Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert unveils Jean Stothert Street during a ceremony in Omaha on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026.
NIKOS FRAZIER, THE WORLD-HERALD
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