Esquire has an amazing article about the story of one of the most famous photographs from the September 11th attacks in New York City… that of a single man falling through the air after having lept to his death.
One of the most fascinating things to me was how the family of the man presumed to be in the picture refused to believe it could be him.  They felt that his suicide would have been act of cowardice, and his love for them would have kept him working to return to them.
I cannot remotely assume to know what it was like to be in that situation, in those buildings, on that day. Most pictures of the jumpers were censored inside the United States, but some estimates place the total as high as 200 people.  They fell for 10 seconds. They reached speeds of 150 miles per hour.  They fled a hell of chaos, terror, and burning jet fuel.
How you exit this life is an important part of how you live it. Whether those people jumped out of fear or in act of defiance, they most assuredly were not cowards.