Medal of Valor Award winner Darin Kinder shares gripping narrative of survival and transformation in the aftermath of 9/11
DALLAS — A U.S. Secret Service agent has told for the first time how surviving the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center 24 years ago changed his life.
Medal of Valor recipient Darin Kinder was inside the World Trade Center in New York City preparing to go into a meeting when the twin towers were hit by two hijacked jetliners on Sept. 11, 2001.
“The world began falling around me as debris from the plane, chunks of the building, and burning jet fuel rained down,” recalls Kinder in his new memoir, Bury Me In A Dirty Suit, set for release on Aug. 18, prior to the 24th anniversary of the Al Qaeda terror attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives. Click here to watch book trailer:
“I immediately assumed it was a terror attack,” recalled Kinder who recently retired as a special agent after 25 years of service that included protecting U.S. presidents and American interests in more than 40 countries.
But it’s his memories of 9/11 — the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil — that are the most vivid and haunting. The traumatic experience would change his life — and set him on a mission to discover God’s purpose.
“I shouted at the top of my lungs to approximately ten to fifteen injured and lost people who found me in the darkness,” Kinder remembered, assessing each victim for injuries and then directing them to safety.
“Follow the sound of my voice! “Come this way! There is a way out! There is light!” he instructed.
Amid the chaos and destruction, Kinder says he felt God speak to him, assuring him that he was not alone.
“The Lord almost literally put me on my knees in the middle of the intersection. He said to me, ‘I am with you. I have not forsaken you’,” Kinder says in his memoir, which is dedicated to the 422 first responders who perished while “knowing the danger and considering the cost.”
On 9/11, Kinder emerged “bruised, bloodied and covered head-to-toe in filth,” his suit shredded, and his shoes in tatters.
His heroic actions were later recognized with the Medal of Valor, the U.S. Secret Service’s highest award for bravery displayed by public safety officers.
‘Dirty Suit for God’
Kinder founded Fierce Faith [insert website hyperlink], a Christian organization that encourages men to live purposefully serving God. “Spend the rest of your days getting your ‘suit’ dirty for the glory of God,” he challenges them.
“More than ever, our culture needs men who will lead with integrity,” Kinder says, “not simply a life driven by a code of rules, but a life standing firm on faith in Jesus and the power of God’s grace. We need brave men who believe they were created not with a heart of shameful fear, but a heart of power and love.”
As founder of Fierce Faith, and author of his first book, “Bury Me in a Dirty Suit,” Kinder is a sought-after speaker and frequent podcast guest. He lives in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas where he and his wife Heather are training-up their four sons.
Click here to learn more information including how to purchase a copy of Kinder’s book, Bury Me In A Dirty Suit: Discovering Man’s Valiant Purpose in the Aftermath of 9/11.
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MEDIA: To review a full “Bury Me In A Dirty Suit” press kit online, visit here. To schedule an audio or video interview with Darin Kinder or to receive a review copy of the book” contact:
Gregg Wooding, 972-567-7660
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RNS or Religion News Foundation.