HE was not a firefighter, nor a professional medical worker. He was just an ordinary citizen. And naturally he could have run for safety like many others when New York was hit by the worst terrorist attacks in the history of mankind. Yet he sacrificed his own life trying to save others.“He died an American hero,” said New York State Governor George E. Pataki. He was talking about Zack Zeng, a 29-year-old Chinese American who lost his life saving others on the morning of Sept. 11 last year.One year has passed, but Zeng is still alive in the memory of his bereaved mother, his relatives and friends as well as his colleagues in the Bank of New York. “He was a hero among heroes,” came the tribute from workers at the Brighton Volunteer Ambulance in suburban Rochester, New York, where Zeng served as a volunteer medic.In the mind of Cen Jiaoxian, Zeng’s bereaved mother, the scene on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 is still vivid. Cen saw her son leave home for work as usual at the Bank of New York at 101 Barclay Street, just two blocks away from the World Trade Center. When Zeng and his colleague Perry Palma Gil got out of the subway station and started walking to the office, the north tower had already been hit by a hijacked plane, recalled Zeng’s boss Timothy Keaney.On the corner of Park Place and West Broadway, Zeng stopped to assist a firefighter helping two injured females, he said. After tending to the injured, Zeng arrived at the 101 Barclay Street office. Once inside, he called his mom to let her know he was okay, took his medical supplies from his desk and headed directly for the elevator, telling his colleagues that he was going back outside to help.“Mom, there is chaos outside, I’m safe and I’m going to rescue others.” These were the last words Cen Jiaoxian heard from her beloved son. What Zeng did next was shown on Fox 5 TV news channel: somewhere in the disaster area, Zeng, in white shirt and with rubber gloves, squats beside an injured woman, apparently consulting with another rescuer about how to tend to the patient. On May 18 this year, the police informed Cen that part of her son’s remains had been found and identified through a DNA test.Born in Guangzhou in 1972, Zeng emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 15. Ranking second among 400 students in high school helped him gain a scholarship at Rochester University.  (Xinhua)