Joe Quinn of Boston, Mass., Counterinsurgency Advisory

Joe Quinn of Boston, Mass., Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team, left, and U.S. Army Capt. Patrick Dowdell of Ft. Carson, Colo., Chief of Operations, 4/42nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, right, stand at the 9/11 memorial on Forward Operating Base Farah, Afghanistan, Sept. 11, 2010. The two men, who both grew up in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y., forged a bond while attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. and as roommates at Ft. Sill, Okla. Dowdell’s father, Kevin Dowdell, was killed while conducting rescue operations with the Fire Department of New York in the south tower of the World Trade Center and Quinn’s brother was killed while working for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 101st floor of the north tower during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Dowdell and Quinn participated in a memorial ceremony with other service members on FOB Farah to mark the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.