1 20 41 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I heard the news on the radio on my way to work at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. I sat around with a group watching TV for a few minutes and then by myself. I was in disbelief. It suddenly dawned on me that I was a Red Cross nurse, volunteer and Board of Govenor member and had responsibilities. I turned to my assistant and told her I was leaving to do whatever I could for the Red Cross and I did not know when I would return...it could be days or weeks. I went to my local chapter, the Central New Jersey Chapter in Princeton, and told them I was available to do whatever was needed. They sent me to the Red Cross staging center in New Brunswick, NJ. I did not want any special treatment so, I never told anyone at the staging center that I was a board of Governor member. I just told them I was a Red Cross volunteer nurse and was there to help. I must have somehow appeared calm, clear headed and experienced as they gave me the assignment of answering calls from the family crisis line. My nursing skills were well utilized as I listened carefully to the desparate pleas of family members to help them find their family members. They trusted the Red Cross and because I was the voice at the other end of the line they trusted me. I had no easy answers for anyone that day, but I could listen to their pleas, take descriptions for our missing person center, and generally encouraged them to call back as much as they wanted. One man, a father in his 50's, called back to tell me about his son who worked for AON. He described his 26 year old son as having hair so red, that it simply could not be missed as the search for survivors began. He called me three times that day to remind me of the color of his sons hair and to ask if we had found him yet. The family pleas were heart wrenching, but I knew the best thing I could do was listen and offer hope, a hope that all of us as Americans were feeling collectively more strongly than I had ever seen in a lifetime. Later that evening I set up a shelter for a group of Hispanic office cleaners who could not return to their homes in NY. The following morning I was the nurse assgined to a shelter further up in North New Jersey that was in habited by a group of elderly citizens from NYC who could also not return to their homes after a day of gambling in Atlantic City New Jersey. For approximately two weeks thereafter, I did whatever I felt needed to be done, from putting together a mental health referral sheet together for the phone handlers in our area, to hand out brochures on how to help children cope with this disaster, to organizing a business/school help network, to making official visits to the 9/11 Family Center at the Pier in NYC and visit the Red Cross shelters at the World Trade Center sites. RC Story: Response See above RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story1.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-01 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 63.124.222.25 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story When 9/11/01 happened I remember my mind flashed back to WWII when I was a volunteer with the USO in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Therefore, I went to the USO every Tuesday afternoon to volunteer in downtown San Diego. RC Story: Response RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story10.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-10-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.168.76.62 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story Dear Family and Friends, Home, sweet home! Arrived home last Thursday evening from NYC after a 3 week assignment volunteering for the Am. Red Cross. My job was to interview families, friends and acquaintances of ”missing” or identified people who died Sept. 11. I also interviewed the families of passengers of those ill-fated flights, those who were injured fleeing for their lives and the “suddenly unemployed”. I was assigned to “Pier 94”, a 100,000 sq. foot massive structure, all on one level on the same body of water as is the Statue of Liberty. You may have, or will hear of it in the news because that is where all the major agencies as well as the Am. Red Cross locate themselves. It is also from Pier 94 that families are escorted by boat to “Ground Zero” for closure. They, the families and friends of loved ones “lost” or “missing”, congregate in a special room called “the staging” area. It is there they receive or choose a bouquet of flowers if they already hadn’t brought some, and a teddy bear. They will be “briefed” as to what to expect. Accompanying them are a support team consisting of Red Cross Mental Health and Red Cross representatives of various religions. They are all escorted by uniformed and armed State Troopers. All board a double-decker boat which takes about 30 minutes to dock near Battery Park, within walking distance of “Ground Zero”. They walk, wearing their hard hats and goggles to the site. Face masks are available. Soldiers stand at attention saluting until all pass thru the boundary gates, climb up some stairs to an observation area. It is from here that those who lost loved ones have the opportunity to gaze across all the destruction, cranes, bulldozers, smokey areas and workers to say their last goodbyes. Many are weeping, others clutch themselves or each other, and almost everyone is dabbing tissues at their eyes. It’s awesome and terribly sad. After 15 minutes or so, they turn to go to a makeshift memorial. No one is talking. It’s quiet except for the sounds of recovery taking place at “Ground Zero”. Families and friends leave a picture, a note or letter, a teddy bear, a candle, or some special momento and flowers on the huge collection of all that has been left my others before them. They are allowed a few moments there. They return to the boat. It is quiet. No one is talking or making eye contact. Oct. 11th. My first day reporting to Pier 94. I sure wasn’t prepared for what I was to experience that first hour. All along the perimeter were pictures, yellow ribbons and letters along with flowers and stuffed animals displayed on the boundary wall. Written words such as “Have you seen....” or “missing” or personal notes from children to their missing parent or parents, or brothers looking for sisters, or sisters searching for brothers, or friends asking for information etc. On an on. Overwhelming! Then a gauntlet of 3 check points. I had to open by backpack and butt bag and show my ID and Red Cross Badge at the first check point. 2nd check point, show again my badge and ID as well at the check-in table where my name would be cleared for entry. German shepherds everywhere. Well-behaved, but everywhere. Armed military, police, state troopers, NYPD Community personnel, SWAT Teams and others from neighboring states. Every day another kind of uniform I hadn’t seen the day before. My first day inside, I was given a tour. There were huge areas marked off with red and blue carpeting. The red areas were areas marked off due to the kind of assignment they had. DNA testing was done there and death certificates were given. Also, there were many booths marked “Legal” for legal counselling. I was taken along the right side of the building where there was a cafeteria serving families and friends only. It was clearly marked that no videos and cameras would be allowed. Also, there were childcare and child counselling provided for those families or friends who wanted to take advantage of it. This was provided by a national religious group; Church of the Brethen, I believe. I heard nothing but good about the service they provide. I then continued down one side of the far wall which was massive and long. There was no standard ceiling. Like a huge open facility, a kind of wharf type of building exposing metal high beams. This particular wall was covered with more letters, cards and notes with heart wrenching messages. Hundreds of teddybears arrived from Oklahoma City and placed along the wall on the floor continuing down the huge corridor of the building. It was stated that they were a gift from those who lost loved ones in the Oklahoma bombing. After passing various areas partitioned off for the agencies represented there, I came to my side of this huge structure where I would spend my next 3 weeks anywhere from 10 to 12 hours a day, with one day off every 7th day. I worked in the “annex” a special private area dedicated for families and friends of the “lost or missing”. It was quieter there, more private. However, there were hours when I wouldn’t have a family or friend of a missing person, and I would go to the huge pool of people and be assigned an individual next on the list. The stories of “fleeing for their lives” or of seeing horrors took up time even before I could begin the paperwork required to open a Red Cross Case. But it usually went that way. And that was OK. I wasn’t required to meet a quota. I would be introduced to my next client and would ask them to follow me to my desk. Forget the usual openers ie “and how are you today?’” kinds of greetings. Not appropriate. I’d ask if they waited long. They usually did. Then I’d ask them if they’d like to use the restrooms, would like a coffee, had they eaten, did they have children at the care center and would they like to check in on them before we started? Many were not aware of the free cafeteria. Local chefs would come in and prepare really nice food for the families and those all affected by the disaster and for the Staff Cafeteria on the opposite side of the structure. It had huge family style table clothed covered tables with fresh flowers every day. There was also a huge bank of telephones at tables and thru out this huge building for anyone to make a call anywhere in the world FREE of charge and NO time limits. Incredible! Each day I walked to Pier 94 from my hotel on 57th & 7th. It was a pleasant walk, especially since it was autumn, an Indian summer as they say, no rain. I’d get my coffee across from my hotel and walk the 20-25 minutes to the Pier. I’d drink my coffee and mentally prepare myself for the long day ahead. I would arrive at Pier 94 by 7:10AM in time for my 7:30 briefing. Then by 8:30 I would have already had breakfast and ready to begin. I can’t go into the individual cases I had. It would take pages and pages. My function was a tech in Family Service. I processed families and friends of missing people by opening an ARC (Am Red Cross) 901 file. Then with my supervisor’s assistance, we would prepare the ”Cash gift” paperwork as well as addressing immediate financial needs. This would sometimes take 2-3 hours and could be very emotional for the families. Wives of fireman were escorted by 2 firemen from her husband’s battalion. They would do most of the talking and the giving of paperwork, ie death certificate, bills, mortgage and loan papers etc. One department was so pleased with the way I handled the whole interview, that they came back and handed me the NYC FireDepartment badge they all have sewn on their uniforms. I was so touched and honored. My supervisors were fantastic! They made me look great! I learned so much. I interviewed many families and people; sons of fathers who died, brothers of brothers who died, wives of husbands who died, lovers, sisters, Aunts, nephews, uncles, fiances, friends grieving their loss and all other combinations of relationships. The injured were a whole other story. Their nightmare continues. The horrors they saw while fleeing for their lives. One woman I interviewed lost her front teeth and fractured her tibia as well as losing her job. Another saw an airplane part plummeting to earth and causing grave injury to another, and others told me of the sight of people and paper in the air. They could only shake their heads in disbelief and downcast their eyes. Do you wonder how I managed? Me too. I’m just now beginning to process and integrate the whole experience. I cry more easily these days and I thought writing this would be good. And of course I have Eric (my husband), my family and friends. LIfe feels a bit changed for me. It’s for the better, but just how it’s changed in the long run I can’t say for sure. I know my priorities have shifted. I notice things, colors, and people’s faces more than before. I take time now. Slower now. Quality time and my loved ones and friends. The day before the Memorial to be held Sunday 10/28, I came into Pier 94 thru another door. They were preparing the area where staff usually enters for the arrival of the urns to be distributed to all those they were expecting the following day for the Memorial Service. While I was eating breakfast, I heard the sound of bagpipes and trumpets. I walked to the area where they were playing. Hearses were arriving one after another and wheeled carts ladened with cardboard boxes holding smaller boxes containing wooden urns holding “cleaned soil” from “Ground Zero” were being wheeled past soldiers, firemen and police officers standing at attention and saluting while these loaded carts where wheeled past. The sound of all those bagpipe players was overwhelming! Representatives of the various agencies, FEMA, Crime Justice Board, NYFD, NYPD, FBI etc, you name it, was there chosen to escort the ladened carts past all of us onlookers. This went on for about 2 hours. Between the time a cart was rolled past and before another was rolled in, personnel was commanded to be “at ease”. As soon as another load of cartons entered the building, either the bagpipe players or trumpeters would play and uniformed personnel snapped into position either saluting or holding their hand over their hearts, as we onlookers did. It was all so solemn. The following day, I returned to Pier 94 dressed in black slacks and white shirt. I was given a purple sash to wear across my torso and my job would be to hand out an urn to each person who presented a card to me clarifying who it was they “lost”. We all did this with partners and each had a curtained private area with a white tablecloth with a small vase of flowers and a box of kleenex. The urns were stacked behind us along with the military folded American flags. Families were then escorted to available tables whereupon I would request the card and ask them to sign it. My partner choose an urn which was inside a box. The box was almost black about 10” high. The urn inside was made of mahagony wrapped in a dark purple drawstringed sack made of velvet. I would then say “On behalf of the citizens of NYC and the United States of America, please accept this urn and our condolences in memory of the loss of your loved one”, then we would also hand over the folded American flag the proper way we were showed to do. Qivering lips, tearing eyes, the gripping of hands for support, the bent head, the raised head for some and other assorted body postures were the order of the day. My voice cracked when a child reached up for the flag in memory of his Dad. So young and yet strong for his years. Another two, a woman and her daughter receiving the urn and flag for the woman’s son, her daughter’s brother. Both incredibly shaken, gripping each other for support hardly able to utter “thank you” or whatever words I thought they were trying to say as they hurried away. We handed out urns starting 3:00 until 7PM. A very emotionally draining day. I’m home now, but things are different. This assignment changed me I know. Just how I can’t quite say. But it’s good. That I know. I wanted to share my incredible experience with you. I felt extremely privileged to do what I had the opportunity to do. I did my best and I gave my all. Some of those faces I’ll never forget nor their stories. I am grateful and thankful for the little I could do. I hope it helped. For most I’m sure it did. I will never ever forget those 3 weeks that changed my life. Thanks for listening. I appreciate you all and thank you for your love, support and friendship. RC Story: Response RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story11.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-10-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.168.76.62 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story The events of 9/11 have led to many community celebrations of remembrance and reflection. In one small town in Pennsylvania the program sponsored by the local high school involved reading letters from people who serve at the front lines during times of crisis. My God childs mother asked me to write a letter for her to read at that event and the main text of this paper is a copy of my letter to Lara. October 5, 2001 Dear Lara, Your mom asked me to write a letter that could be used as part of the upcoming program at your school. She thought folks there might be interested in the reflections of a tired and deeply saddened American Red Cross (ARC) Disaster Mental Health (DMH) volunteer who has been helping out since the terrorist tragedy struck our nation. September 11th began as just another day for most Americans. Things changed quickly, though, as the hideous terrorist plot began to unfold. I was in my office at the Northampton County Mental Health office that morning helping several other staff members complete a physical office move that had begun the day before. We were positioning desks, file cabinets, and other pieces of office furniture. Someone got word that there had been a plane crash into the World Trade Center in NY City and my coworkers scrambled to get our TV set working to see the news. I simply keep moving furniture. Before too long the office was buzzing as a second plane crashed into the second Tower, and one hit the Pentagon, and another had crashed in western PA. Most work came to a standstill as more and more coworkers were watching the news or were trying to contact family members and friends. I kept doing what I could to complete the office move. My office mates kept passing by and telling me headlines that seemed more and more surreal as events unfolded and the towers began to collapse. Some may have though it odd that I kept working on my tasks for the day. Others knew I'd already taken a phone call from the Red Cross, placing me on alert to travel wherever I was needed, as soon as my destination could be determined. I have been a disaster relief volunteer for over 10 years and I am a member of ARC's Aviation Incident Response (AIR) Team. Our role is to support family members and everyone else involved in the rescue/recovery process when such incidents occur. Until I was dispatched, continuing the physical activity of the office move was something concrete I could do to help my own office staff as much as I could, before I left the area. By noon our County offices were closed. I went home and packed, finally watching some TV coverage. Folks in the disaster services field plan for "worst case" scenarios and yet no one imagined this could happen. By the time my kids got home from school, I'd gotten my assignment. I was to drive to the Johnstown area to support the relief operation for the families of those lost on United Flight 93 - the "heroes" flight on which the passengers managed to stop the terrorists before they reached their intended target. For the next 12 days, I served as the Coordinator of the Family Assistance Center (FAC). The FAC is a "safe haven" spot where family members can come together and share their thoughts, feelings, and memories with one another. There they can also talk to mental health workers and members of the clergy, doing so in a secured place designed to protect their privacy. Many prefer avoid the media, lawyers, and any others who might further victimize them at a time when they are quite vulnerable. Part of our role is to organize family member visits to the crash site, and these are usually followed by a multi-faith memorial service. Most surviving family members need to visit the site - a visit that helps them accept their loss and begin to move forward with their suddenly altered lives. Disasters (and other traumatic life events) will always change us, but they need not damage us. Our work in disaster relief is based upon the fact that people are incredibly strong and resilient. Each of us builds character as we work our way though events such as these. Gradually the victims retake control of their lives and shift from feeling like victims to feeling like survivors. About 500 family members and close friends of those lost on Flight 93 were served by our ARC team. Helping us serve them were the warm wishes and prayers of people all over the world. We received a marvelous array of flowers, cards, banners, gift baskets, comfort kits, and letters of support. Especially helpful were the touching messages from innocent children, some of whom attend a school that was near the crash site. These things all gave great comfort to the families and, when we closed the FAC, these items became part of the permanent memorial to those brave souls who lost their lives while protecting the lives of others. My experiences with mass casualty incidents always sadden me (something that generally hits us as we end our work) and this was no exception. In fact, this one was worse for me than usual. I cried off and on, all the way home from western PA. For several days thereafter, I found myself having what I've joking dubbed "random acts of crying" triggered by certain songs, pictures, or news reports. That ran its course but, as I write this letter, I'm tearing up again. I chose to write this for you as a way to pass my time while on a bus ride to NY City. I've had two weeks rest and now I'm on my way to join the larger, ongoing ARC operation there. Disaster work gives people an interesting perspective on life. For instance, when someone works as many major disasters as I have, some of the pettiness of day-to-day activities of living can be more easily ignored and it's easier to keep focused on what's important. During times of tragedy, one thing that is very important is support - support from family members, support from friends, support from communities of faith, and support from others who care enough to share something of themselves when people are in need. I'm truly privileged to be able to help out as I do when terrible things like this happen. Others may think me a bit strange (or crazy) to give up my time and volunteer as I do. The fact is, the most rewarding moments of my professional career have all come to me as an unintended and unexpected result of my volunteer work with ARC. As my bus approaches NY and, in the morning mist I can now see the altered skyline at the southern end of this great city. I find myself thinking about the 1000s of people who never got to say goodbye to their loved ones - people who never got to finish living out their dreams. Some of them also may never have experienced the joy of helping others who needed help in a time of crisis. Please encourage the audience members to let go of any animosity they harbor toward others and avoid putting off showing loved ones they care. Life is too precious a commodity to squander. As the events of 9/11 have shown us, it can be taken from us in an instant. And please encourage the audience to share some of their time, talents, and treasure helping others. They will, in turn, find they get back far more than they give. Love, Uncle John RC Story: Response Postscript The combined experiences of working in PA and NY were, for me, an awesome reminder of humanity at its best and its worst. As someone who enjoys writing, I always tend to begin my own search for meaning in stressful events via written reflection. Rather than write things that would be too upsetting for my goddaughter and her schoolmates, I shared only a few things in my letter and I tried to keep a positive focus. The following paragraphs offer a broader picture of my work and some of my more personal reactions to it. On 10/5 I traveled to NY City and began 15 days work as the Deputy Officer (second-in-charge) for the American Red Cross (ARC) Disaster Mental Health (DMH) function for the World Trade Center (WTC) operation. There, I supervised several other Assistant Officers, as we continued to manage the efforts of some 1875 DMH workers (1500 spontaneous local volunteers and 375 National ARC volunteers) who were involved to that point in time. From 9/11 to 10/19 there were over 73,000 DMH contacts made by these workers with family survivors, friends, rescue/recovery team members, construction / cleanup workers, and fellow members of the various disaster relief teams. I was struck by the size and scope of the relief effort; despite having so many people to help, we needed more. Standing at ground zero and viewing the horror, I found myself thinking that the TV coverage did not properly depict the magnitude of the devastation, nor the great needs of the victims' families, coworkers and friends. The Family Assistance Center, located on Pier 94, was as big as several jumbo jet hangers. In addition to the large group of ARC workers, there were people from many government agencies, social service organizations, support groups, etc. There were therapy dogs and their handlers working the room, in addition to all the other supports. Three or four site visits for families were run from there daily. People were taken by ferry boat/water taxi to a dock near ground zero and then walked in to the viewing location. NY also had many other work sites including our headquarters (HQ) office, eight Service Centers (at peak), kitchens, warehouses, lots of mass care emergency response vehicles, a Casualty Contact Unit (aka Integrated Care Team), and two Respite Centers (RC). These RCs were for recovery workers, police, fire, and National Guard personnel, etc. who are working on the cleanup effort. They could eat, nap, get a massage, watch TV, surf the net, get first aid, talk to clergy and DMH, etc. Everyone involved was doing superb work. In retrospect, I feel the Flight 93 operation was clearly the finest assignment I've ever had with ARC. My team there consisted of a superb group of volunteers, many of whom were on their first national assignment. The members immediately grasped their duties, dove in, functioned as a team, did whatever it took, and successfully completed the difficult mission. I was disappointed and even angry, at times, while working in NY, that things were not working as smoothly as they had in PA. In NY we had many workers who were causing additional and unnecessary problems, rather than being helpful by letting their own needs supersede those of the operation. For instance, there were some folks who did not seem to have the patience and/or flexibility to allow them to be successful in something this complex a problem that arises in all large operations. The most troubling to me, though, were people who felt they had wasted their time and their "trauma expertise" in coming to NY, if they could not work right at ground zero. They had forgotten the parts of the ARC training that stressed the importance of DMH tasks at every work setting and/or they somehow lost the vision of our overall helping mission. Luckily, I did get to meet many folks who were fine examples of the same spirit and dedication that Id seen in my Western PA team members, and that helped get me through the challenges posed each day by those who were the malcontents and troublemakers. There are many lasting memories from these events. One will be of standing next to several representatives of the Salvation Army (SA) during the second large memorial service for Flight 93 and "passing the peace" (shaking hands and saying "peace be with you") with them. Sometimes there is a rivalry between the ARC and the SA but not at a time like this. Another series of Flight 93 memories is of our caravans of buses traveling in a motorcade to the crash site prior to the memorial services. Along our route we saw many patriotically decorated homes, many with memorial displays and signs in their yards. There were police stopping traffic at every major intersection. The officers would always come to attention and salute our passengers as we passed. There was also a larger memorial set up in the small town nearest the crash site and beside it there was always a crowd of people holding supportive signs and waving flags. These simple acts of reverence had me in tears each time we passed. In PA and in NY we were able to draw strength from the many cards, letters, prayers, signs, banners, toys (especially the compassion bears), miscellaneous gifts, and floral arrangements that poured in from everywhere, and I cherish those memories. There were some scary moments too, especially for my family (I tend to generally enjoy a robust sense of healthy denial that I will be ever at-risk in my disaster relief work). As soon as the events of 9/11 began to unfold, I wanted to go somewhere and help out. My wife and kids accept that, but they were really glad I initially went to the PA site rather than NY, fearing there was more potential risk there. By the time I did go to NY, they were more comfortable that things were safe there. That feeling was short-lived, though, once the war began, as the National Guard presence there expanded and anthrax scares began. I got to experience one of those firsthand when, on my second-last day in town, our ARC HQ building was evacuated and I found myself in the potentially contaminated group of early-risers whod gotten in and had breakfast in a cafeteria where some suspicious, sticky white powder had turned up. We were quarantined for a few hours while a HAZMAT crew examined the scene and then everyone was allowed back in the building. Officials took our local and home contact information in case it turned out to be the real thing and that meant I had to tell my wife and kids in case anyone called there about it. They took it better than I imagined they would and, thankfully, it was not anthrax. Since returning from my ARC DMH assignments at the WTC operation and in Western PA, I've especially welcomed the opportunities I've had to debrief, support, and thank others for serving and to be debriefed/supported/thanked myself. In addition to that peer support, I want to stress the value of written expression, which is extremely important for both its cathartic, self-debriefing nature and, when the writings are shared, its educational and supportive benefits. Ive noticed that more and more people seem to be taking advantage of personal e-mail messages and postings to e-mail listserve groups. This public sharing offers stress inoculation to those considering joining the work and provides a great deal of comfort and peer support to all who have already been out there doing this difficult and yet personally rewarding work. RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story12.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-10-08 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 209.173.10.76 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story Working in the ER Department at an upstate hospital, you would think we heard of the events at the WTC. But we saw the events unfold infront of us, for that day we received new television sets in the new section of ER that was constructed. As a former employee of the local chapter in Emergency Services, I knew not to call right away, for I knew that chapter would be calling soon enough for DSHR volunteers. On September 13th I left my life and family and my 17 month old son behind and headed with 3 other DSHR volunteers. Intially I was to work in Mass Care and upon arriving saw a need in Logistics. On the morning of the 14th I start to work with the Logistics Officer and Assistant Officer. I kept thinking back to the events of 9/11 as I worked at HQ. I kept thinking of my young son and wondered what I would tell him of the events of 9/11. Now almost four years later, I am still not sure what to tell him, but I can tell him I was there to help and hope that I made a difference on the days that followed. RC Story: Response I called my local chapter and told them I would like to help. It did not take long for chapter to call to say there was a need. Within 4 hours of getting the call I was on my way from Albany to NYC. RC Story: RC Volunteer no RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story127.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2005-07-23 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 216.136.67.166 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I was in U.S. history class, and it was my junior year of high school. We were just finishing with class when we heard the news about the first plane hitting the tower. We turned on the t.v. and stood there looking at the tower with the smoke billowing out. Then the worst happened. We were getting ready to leave, and i remember this eary moment like it was yesterday, i saw a plane enter into the screen and crash into the other tower, shaking the camera. There was no words coming from the t.v. nor the class room as we all watched in horror. I remember walking around all day wondering what i could do, and finally decided to donate blood for the first time. Now, i'm a freshman at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and enrolled as a history major, speciffically a U.S. history major. I don't want anyone to ever forget september 11, god knows i won't. RC Story: Response As soon as i realized that my blood could help, i donated as much blood as possible in the months after. RC Story: RC Volunteer no RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story13.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-10-16 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 129.89.106.186 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story As Minneapolis Area Chapter office was just opening, all present and those coming into the building gathered around the TV in the lunchroom in disbelief. It became evident that we would be affected as a chapter in the mid-west also we opened our EOC as a call-center just in time for a flood of calls from the public which went severyal days 24 hours and later for extended hours. A local TV affiliate set up a remote studio in our building with reporters doing interviews regularly with staff, volunteers, blood and financial donors, and with our volunteer mental health team members. RC Story: Response PERSONAL MEMORIES September 23, to October 14, 2001 Response to the 9/11/01 attack on the WORLD TRADE CENTER NEW YORK Robert N. Munson, MSW, LISW Director Emergency Services The American Red Cross sent me to New York City for a three-week assignment to help begin a response to grieving foreign nationals who had lost family members in the World Trade Center attack. The assignment was because I am a member of the International Family Linking On-call Team, a specialty group of the American Red Cross International Disaster Response Team, I wrote emails back to my family and the Minneapolis Red Cross as debriefing therapy for myself. My family and co-workers forwarded them to friends. Several have said that the emails also helped them better understand the depth of grief and the response in New York as I experienced it. 9/25/01 Family Assistance Center, Pier 94, NYC I work on Pier 94 which is the building in NYC where all families who have a missing relative need to come to access any and all services. To say that we have been busy since my arrival at the center on Monday AM is an understatement. Currently Red Cross Family Service in this building has a waiting list of 5 hours for families. We are in a giant pier warehouse building -- set up like a trade show with full carpet, poles with drapes, and some 75 agencies with all their staff and stuff service agencies, government, immigration, FBI, child care, etc. It is a comfortable building in order to be welcoming and calming as can be to the families. The City of New York has done a good job. It is a full city of people in this building -- with free meals for families and separate 3 meals a day for workers. The dining areas are nice (as they can be) -- donated fresh flowers daily, tablecloths, and an ambiance of peace and calm different from the noisy, bustling activity everywhere else. There are clients and workers everywhere. Lots of noise. People come here to access a broad array of services. Security is the tightest I have ever experienced anywhere. You can't get near the place without going through several barricades, body and bag checks -- and once in, all workers need to be separately badged daily even though we have permanent clearance badges. Clients, of course have ID, are escorted, and limited by lots of armed police and military to certain areas. Interestingly, several dogs around with handlers -- not sure if they are rescue dogs off duty or other "sniffers" and working dogs. Outside is where the "wall of photos is that you see on TV -- it is so moving that I avoid spending too much time passing by. Because of my work, I have access to all areas of the city including Ground Zero -- few people Red Cross have the "green badges" for this purpose -- however we may have client work in the area. Fortunately I have not yet been to Ground Zero yet -- fortunately because those who have come back deeply moved. I am not sure I am ready for that yet. Currently, the public cannot get near there. Coming from the airport, we saw other highways closed to the public with the dump trucks in parade taking away debris. They say it will go on for a long time. We have been very busy in International Services -- yesterday was 16 hours long -- so far we are only 6 people in NYC doing International -- 3 are caseworkers like myself who are dealing most closely with the families. So far I have worked with people from the four corners of the world who have lost family here -- and so far only with people living in USA. I speak a lot of Spanish during the day. A man, 20s, just walked in to talk with my co-worker -- he has a 10x12-color portrait of his brother hanging on his neck -- it is a heartbreaking sight -- we see this all day long. We start soon working with incoming international families. Tomorrow promises to be incredibly busy as they have said that they are going to begin issuing some 4,700 death certificates. That will begin a long process of people being able to access many other services, insurance, etc. I must go now. Another quick thought -- we have seen many celebrities come through -- all very encouraging to the workers and clients, and they have been very sensitive to the situation. I'll write when I can. Love, Bob 9/26/01 American Red Cross International Services It would be nice to let everyone know that hotels and the whole city is going way-out of their way to help the rescuers and the helpers including the American Red Cross. I understand that this hotel is providing lodging to Red Cross personnel at a small fraction of the rate they could normally get from business traffic. Of course, business is down, however this is a major in-kind gift to the Red Cross, and a wonderful emotional boost to us to have a pleasant place to stay after working with the families of NYC. I wrote a note of appreciation to the hotel manager and received back a voice mail of appreciation to me for being here! We have free bus and subway passes, and I hear that many restaurants automatically give big discounts (or in the case of Olive Garden free meals) to Red Cross if you show our official ID. I haven't had time to experience that generosity yet, but two of us did take a free bus back to the hotel after working until 11 p.m. We live only 6 long NYC blocks which is nice to walk in the day -- I did today. We started shifts today in International Services in that we have more workers (5 plus an evening local volunteer). I am on the 2 p.m. to midnight shift. It was good to sleep this a. m. -- and I did until 10 a.m. when the desk called requesting to move me. They apparently could rent the regular size room I have been in, and moved me to a bigger room for which they had less call. What a benefit for me! So far the most dramatic cases I have handled involve bringing parents from Ecuador here to be with their only surviving son; a family from Colombia bringing a mother here; a man from Cameroon trying to decide what to do about his parents back home; a new widow and her son who have British passports but whose husband worked in the WTC (World Trade Center), and several others with similar situations. Tomorrow I was to be transferred from this central Family Assistance Center to one of the 3 local Service Centers. However, it was decided that all of us would remain here for a few more days doing our consultation with the caseworkers on the phone -- although "my" service center is only about a 10 minute cab ride so I could go and see a client there also. The security was tougher today -- the crowds of family quite unbelievable -- every possible ethnic and economic group. The disaster affected a complete cross-section of society. Today was the beginning of the issuing of death certificates (or the beginning of that process in alphabetical order up through "D" I believe). There was much more open weeping everywhere you went today than before. Im OK working with individual families -- going through the crowds in the "halls" is difficult. I am glad that I am not working mental health -- they have a very difficult job. Several of the MN mental health workers are here. Duty calls -- need to go. Take care Love Bob 9/27/01 Of Bears, Dogs, and Flags on Pier 94 BEARS: The most macho of men, the smallest of children, people of all ages are warmly clutching teddy bears of various breeds. None are casually carried. They are everywhere. They are a "badge" designating a family member of a missing person as much as the paper stick-on badge on their clothing that proclaims: "FAMILY" to differentiate from similar badges which read "staff" and/or "volunteer". Each day we have a different color badge -- each day all of us stand in lines to be ID. Nobody nobody --gets beyond the single front entrance guarded by police and military, without proper identification. No cameras are allowed. All carry items are searched. Another kind of bear sits against the back wall. It is a wall, which, according to my pacing, is 200 feet long. The wall is covered with pictures of missing family members -- all with hand-written notations: "wearing green dress", "tattoo of eagle on shoulder", "last seen on floor 96 Tower One" . . . . (This wall is different than the one you see on TV -- that one is on the street in front of the building where the media gathers. This wall is inside -- protected from all but family members and people involved in the response.) On the floor like guardians of these precious "wanted posters" sit rows and rows of multi-breed teddy bears. All these bears were sent by the children and friends from Oklahoma City to their new brothers and sisters in NYC. I remember that I visited the Oklahoma Memorial only some 16 months ago at the Fifth Anniversary of that bombing, and how moving that was. The still hurting are comforting the newly hurting. Amongst the bears, there are lighted candles in glass holders and fresh flowers. The sight is amazingly peaceful given the bustle around. All is roped off -- family members are allowed to be at touching distance to the photos -- a rope keeps workers who are going about their business separated so the families can weep in peace. At night, I take a free bus for families and Pier 94 workers back to an area close to my hotel. On the way home we pass by NY Fire Department Station 47 -- it is evident that they lost several of their firefighters. The front is piled with flowers, and candles are everywhere. But the fire trucks are ready and waiting to be called out to the next incident. Many people are standing around quietly amongst the flowers. It is midnight. How can they go home when their dad or brother might be found tonight? DOGS: When last I wrote, I didn't know why there were so many dogs and handlers around -- I thought they had a protection mission in the building. Noting that many were fluffy and less-than-ferocious, I found out that they are all trained Therapy Dogs -- and their mission is comfort. They fill the mission well. I, too, have been encouraged by a lick on the hand. FLAGS: This place is huge. Several square blocks. All around the walls at the ceiling hang huge American Flags. In a way, this seems somewhat permanent, in a makeshift way -- in reality we will be people serving families here for a very long time. It is now 11:30 p.m. -- I just now have been asked to help bring a grandmother here from South America to participate in a funeral for a grandson whose body will undoubtedly never be found. The interview will be in Spanish. I will be here for a while. I am sure the family is more tired than I am. Love, Bob 9/28/01 Family Assistance Center, Pier 94, NYC FAMILY ASSISTANCE CENTER - NYC Current operating hours are 8 a.m. to midnight. We all stand in lines with our own thoughts …waiting to get into the huge building on Pier 94. To get into the building, one crosses a highway, passes by the media area separated from us by portable iron fencing. We pass by the wall you have seen on TV with all of the photos of missing loved ones. Many such walls are all over NYC. Yellow ribbons are beginning to fill in all of the fencing. You wait in line while guards check credentials of workers and ID papers of family members. All bags are searched. Cameras are forbidden. I don't know what else they are looking for. I don't ask. You cross a small parking area which contains the WORLDCOM semi-trailer housing the banks of telephone from which family members can call world-wide for free. Also in this area the Salvation Army has a large canteen and snack tent. One enters the building -- family members in one door, workers through another. Family is greeted by uniformed guards who check papers again and pass them into a line to the Reception Desk at which they learn what services are available and where they are. They get a dated, colored badge reading "Family". Red Cross has a First Aid station there staffed by both nurses and physicians. They are stocked like a neighborhood drug store. Families then go to the service they want, and sit in large waiting areas for the next available government or agency worker. Red Cross Mental Health workers, Chaplains and Therapy Dogs wander throughout the building -- are all clearly marked as to who they are; even the dogs have their own picture ID. Workers enter another door, go to a table where every worker authorized to be in the building each day on a printed list. Those on the list get a different colored dated badge each day indicating what they do. We already also have photo ID indicating the service areas we are allowed to go. We then go to our workspaces. We have what we need even though everything is obviously temporary. I feel my presence here has made a difference to those in grief. I am fortunate to be able to come. There is a very large staff lunchroom, and a very large family lunchroom. All decorated with tablecloths and fresh flowers. Food is abundant and very good. Red Cross Mass Care workers are numerous and never let a serving plate go empty. I have heard the words multiple times while in line for security, but I always find joy when I see people hugging and saying "thank God you're alive -- I have been wondering about you". I am sure that some of the family members who are not as fortunate have other thoughts about those words. -- Bob 9/29/01 Midtown Manhattan, NYC After work last night, I walked the few blocks down to Times Square. I got off at 11:30 -- no international clients were waiting. The city area was packed with people -- unbelievable. One of my co-workers went to Phantom of the Opera AND Aida on her day off yesterday. $25 for one, and free for the other with ARC ID. Her Aida ticket was printed at $90. They are trying to keep shows open, of course, as well as keep the tourists coming here. Also, NYC is openly in love with the rescuers and responders. We are not suppose to show ID on the street (reporters and media bait), but we are told of several places that offer discounts. Subways and busses are all still free for Red Cross workers with ID. So far, I have only taken the subway once. I still don't know how they can put another person into Times Square -- I have been there mid-day and mid-night, and you can hardly walk through. My day off is Sunday, so perhaps I can see some Broadway show. It is 8:20 and I will soon go to dinner. Hagen Daz set up a full "parlor" here today for the workers. I had a waffle cone mid-afternoon. All food, snacks and beverages are free to us in our own huge dining area. The families have a similar area with the same things on the other side of the building. All served by the Red Cross volunteers -- I understand that most of the food is donated by restaurants or at a big discount. They are full meals which have been very, very good. I try to eat at a restaurant or Deli on my walk to work just to be alone and have what I want rather than what is being served at the Center. There are several others from Minnesota here, but I dont often see any of them because of our work locations and schedules. Love, Bob 9/30/01 Some of the People Passing Through .. . A young Mexican woman is here looking for her husband who worked as a waiter on the top floor of the WTC in the famous Windows of the World restaurant. He was the sole support of her, their three children, and an invalid brother in Mexico. I try to help her through the paper of death certificates, return of personal effects, and any other benefits to which she might be entitled. She is not ready. She still completely believes they will find her husband alive. It has now been 20 days. An older Japanese woman sits in front of me dressed in hat, tailored suit, hands folded on her lap, and eyes continually downcast from mine. She is completely stoical as the translator instantly changes my English into Japanese. Her only son worked for the company that lost some 700 of its employees. Her concern is with having something tangible of his to take back with her for the Buddhist memorial service that is scheduled on her return to Japan. The Red Cross will ship his personal belongings. She is very grateful. She stands and deeply bows to me. I bow respectfully in return. A man in his thirties and his wife speak to me in a heavy Polish accent. They have with them his father who has come to NYC from Poland yesterday. He will be here for a week to grieve with this couple, and his daughter-in-law the new widow of his only other son who worked at WTC. The woman before me comments that she is trying to help her sister-in-law as best she can. It is difficult in that the widow refuses to be with, or talk to the man sitting before me --her brother-in-law. With tears in his eyes, the man tells me that he and his deceased brother are identical twins. His sister-in-law cannot bear to look into his face or hear his voice at this time. Hopefully time will heal. One also wonders what it must be like for him to look in a mirror. We are requesting that the Polish Red Cross assist in putting the name of the deceased twin on the headstone of their mother who died just a month ago. My Spanish-speaking client from Ecuador has a running joke. When all this is over, he wants to come to visit me in Minnesota. He is now totally alone in this country perhaps knowing me has been a comfort. When one has family and friends, a familiar country and language, it is hard to image what is it like to have none of those things. Maybe the joke -- the fantasy -- of someday visiting Minnesota can pull him through. Through all the sadness - clients frequently express hope, faith, and the strength to rise above this pile of rubble, which has fallen on lower Manhattan. I feel honored to be with these people and so very grateful that I have something to offer them through the American Red Cross. A psychologist from St. Paul working in my area has just given me a laugh with his hand puppet he uses with children. Surprisingly, you hear frequent laughter on Pier 94. Life does go on. We shall all survive. -- Bob 10/30/01 Remembering The Fallen Interestingly, the work is invigorating rather than depressing while I'm here at the Family Assistance Center. I do, however debrief my mind when Im alone in the hotel, and have shed many tears thinking of those who have shared their stories with me during the day. Language is an interesting thing -- we have translators of nearly every imaginable language here, and all that I have met and used are wonderfully compassionate people. They often come back asking about clients we have shared -- if I know how they are, etc. My day off was Monday. I was going to St. Patrick's Cathedral to tour. Getting there, the street was blocked, police everywhere, and a huge fire truck sitting in front. I stopped to ask the police when I would be able to get inside. He asked if I were going to the memorial. It was evident that this was a service honoring a fireman who died at the WTC, so I said I would like to go in if permitted, and showed him my "get into everywhere" Red Cross ID. I was taken into the cathedral. Entering the door, I was literally, spiritually transported with the smells of the incense and candles mixed with the World Trade Center debris dust of the firemen around me -- still in their full rescue suits and boots. It was a funeral of one of their comrades. The cathedral could barely have held another ten people -- it was packed. The music and the ritual of the service -- including communion, which I took with the firemen -- was a real healing, experience for me. Afterwards the body was taken to the fire truck for a procession of firemen walking behind down the Avenue of the Americas and some of the best known real estate in the world. It was a memorable experience. --Love, Bob 1/04/01 Visitors to Pier 94, NYC The seven (total) of us in International have two small work tables and two computers in an Admin space, and two counseling tables in the counseling areas which are several large draped areas with multiple tables in each. Privacy amounts to talking softly. We are quite cozy with each other most of the time. Perhaps have not mentioned to you that there is quite a parade of notables through here- Madeline Albright and I chatted, Elton John autographed and kissed the cheeks of my female co-workers, much of US Congress has been here. I hear lots of sports stars and Broadway performers I don't know have also been through. But then this is NYC and mid-town Manhattan. Mostly you know them by the escorts and "visitor" badges verses the "staff" or "volunteer" badges we wear. They come to be helpful and supportive. I guess they are to many people. As you know, however, work goes on no matter who is coming through. We were told, however, that if President Bush came through today (he was in NY) that work would pretty much stop -- he didn't come. You know the enormous Navy Hospital ship "Comfort"? It was berthed here right at our pier until Sunday when it pulled out. All painted white with big red crosses on it was very impressive. Most people thought it was our Red Cross organization ship rather than a hospital ship -- I didn't use it as a teachable moment -- I was too proud of seeing such an impressive floating facility with the red crosses so big on it. --Bob 10/6/01 Two Weeks on the Job Makes a Difference I have been here now for two weeks, and I am getting used to many things: the routine of hotel living, lots of walking on the streets of NY, the venders everywhere with multiple types of patriotic goods to sell, the very bright lights of Times Square, the horse & carriage; the mounted patrols, the police and security everywhere, seeing all the theaters, famous concert halls and stores, passing hot-dog and pretzel venders on almost every corner, the noise, the honking, dodging the taxis, the crowds of people. One thing I'll not miss when I return is the noise of the garbage trucks all night long -- even from my 8th floor room they are very loud every night. I see many Minnesotans and many comment on how well represented our state is. Since Red Cross Disaster Mental Health for the Family Assistance Center is based out of my same office area, I see several Minnesotans working in that function. I hear of many others who are here -- but this is a very, very big Red Cross response in many parts of the city -- so seeing people you know is completely coincidental. The other side of my two weeks here is seeing the issues of the clients. Recently we have been seeing more repeat clients -- especially those with multiple problems or complicated issues. This is interesting, however it different than the former parade of new people whom I interviewed previously. For example, I have worked now with four clients needing psychiatric evaluations. The psychiatrists have been wonderful, thorough, and impressive with their follow-up with me. The issues have been when "normal" depression crosses the line -- especially regarding sleep and appetite disorders. Grief can be a very debilitating emotion. Enough for tonight. I am looking forward to my midnight walk to the hotel for some exercise. This has been a day of sitting down -- and the dinner tonight at the ARC dining hall was particularly "comfort food". Bob 10/07/01 On The Sidewalks of New York Hi -- rainy here this morning -- I didn't use my umbrella because of the wind. Anyway it was still a good walk to the Pier. I am getting lots of exercise walking. Even going at midnight is not so bad -- there usually are several people in each block walking their dogs. The closer you get to Broadway and Fifth Avenue, the more police are on every corner, so they are the ones you have to walk through or around. I am a couple of blocks from Central Park at Columbus Circle, so last night I walked along the Central Park Drive past all the big hotels that face Central Park. Even at 12:30 a.m. it was populated and many of the horse & carriage drivers were taking their fares through the area or waiting to be hired. Monday should be interesting in my hotel area since we are at Columbus Circle -- NYC has a big parade, and I would ASSUME it would at least go by the statues and fountains of Columbus Circle. No matter, I will be working. I also walked up Fifth Avenue for a few blocks before turning on 56th to my hotel. Many famous stores -- but I haven't seen Tiffany's yet. They will be changing the hours of the Center from 8 to 8 starting Sunday. Things are not quite as hectic or crowded, but there are still thousands of people through here daily. The mayor was here tonight, but I missed him. I usually hear about celebrity visits long after they are gone. Oddly, I have not seen a single therapy dog today -- I miss them. I hear they take them along on the excursion boats that go to the observation platform at Ground Zero reserved for family members. The boats leave from here up to three times per day. I am sure that it is a very sad trip. I am hoping that the change in hours will allow me to take advantage of the beautiful health club in the hotel. They also have a rooftop swim pool. I have used neither in that they close at 11:00 p.m. They open 6:00 a.m., however I sleep as late as I can. I have had lunch twice now at the deli that David Letterman often has on camera during his show -- it is right next to the Ed Sullivan Theater where Letterman performs -- it is about 3 blocks from my hotel. Love, Bob 10/10/01 Ground Zero Former Site of the World Trade Center Yesterday I took the subway down to Ground Zero -- the former World Trade Center. This was the first day that I felt I could do it -- I knew that I wanted to see what this was really all about, yet because of all the families and their stories, I could not buck up emotionally to actually go there. I woke up early yesterday, sat up in bed, and said to myself -- this is the day. I quickly dressed as I knew I only had about four hours before reporting to work with the clients. I took the subway south. It wasn't what I had expected. We have seen it all on TV so much -- daily, and almost unrelentingly. It was worse. TV does not portray the reality. I arrived at the fence laden with flowers, pictures, gifts, and letters. People were silently looking at it all, taking some pictures, but mostly just quiet. We are many blocks away at this point. I approached the numerous policemen. I inquired how they were doing: "fine". They checked my Red Cross ID with the green band reading "Full Access & Ground Zero", and opened a gate letting me pass. I did, and walked all alone down the middle of what normally would have been a busy NYC street. Everything was damaged, windows broken; buildings draped in enormous tarps. I could not tell what I was really looking at -- I needed to ask the next policeman exactly where the WTC was -- he pointed ahead several more blocks. The further I went, the worse it got. Finally I saw the smoke, smelled the smells, and walked in the mud. Actually being there was different. I felt sick to my stomach -- tears welled up in my eyes. This is not just a damaged building it is an unconsecrated burial mound. The smoke is still coming out of the hole -- the huge cranes move slowly. The trucks come out laden with debris and need to go through a decontamination spray before getting onto the streets. I could only go within a couple of blocks without obviously getting in the way. It was close enough for me. I went to the nearby Respite Center where all of the rescuers can go for coffee, to sit down, receive informal counseling, rest, and food. Red Cross volunteers were there managing all the needs of the workers. Salvation Army was across the street also helping countless numbers of people. There were so many trucks -- there were so many men dressed in heavy protective gear. Everyone was working -- few standing around. I spoke to some of the police, with Red Cross volunteers, and stood aside as the workmen headed to the relative comforts of the Respite Center. I turned and left. Again, my throat closed and I felt I could hardly breathe, but I kept walking north -- away from that war zone. I took the subway back to my workplace and the families waiting for me. I have even a deeper appreciation of my clients, their stories, and a strong knowledge, and belief of why I am here. Soon I will be home. This memory will live on. -- Bob 10/11/01 Transition Suddenly I am faced with the normal mixed feeling -- I will be leaving here. No, I knew this all along -- after all; I have had my return ticket along with my ticket here. Still, one gets caught up in the work to do, the work done, and now during a transition time, the work still undone. Mostly I want to go home -- get back into the routine of home and work. But another part of me sees the seemly unending line of people coming to the Family Assistance Center with problems that need to be resolved. In these three short weeks, I have learned how to resolve, or alleviate some of their problems. I wish I could help more of them. I am grateful, however, for the talent of the Red Cross people who are coming in to replace us one-by-one. I work at giving them orientation -- but I also know that I can never prepare them for all the things they will see and hear and all the emotions they will feel. Working for the Red Cross relief effort here has been a wonderful, growing experience for me. It is similar to what I recall I have often said about my Peace Corps work so many years ago -- it was on the list as one of the best things that I ever did, but I dont know if I would be able do it twice in one lifetime. Today I have helped ship clothing and personal effects of a deceased man in his twenties back to his parents in Peru. He died at WTC on his birthday. You wonder if his co-workers had a card for him on his desk in the morning. Today I dealt with the psychiatric needs of a woman from the Dominican Republic who is unable to care for her children out of grief at the loss of her spouse. We will be bringing her parents over to care for her and the children; our Integrated Care Team has already assigned a nurse and mental health worker to be with her as necessary in her home. Today I worked with two young men -- Ecuador and Colombia -- both of whom have multiple problems living in the USA which preceded the violent deaths of their respective only brothers. I work with their individual problems. Both have very limited English both have similar life problems, both have current tragedies with which they can barely cope. By chance I am able to introduce them to each other. They go off to have dinner at the Red Cross family dining center. Maybe the next hour will be more pleasant for them. The day passes. I hope my replacement, a young woman who has been working in El Salvador for the International Services of the American Red Cross, will have as rich and rewarding experience as I have had. On the next day, I am in the process of turning over my work for the past 3 weeks to my replacement. As the day progresses, I am surprised three times. My young clients from Ecuador and Colombia come separately to see me, and tell me that their short-term plans have been confirmed and to thank me for sticking with each of them during their worst times. Additionally, my older client from Argentina comes to tell me that his ticket home has been confirmed and he leaves the next day and he thanks me for helping make this possible. As two of these men needed psychiatric interventions for depression during the time I knew them, I was particularly pleased that their lives seemed to be better. It was evident to me on this day with these three men that although there was much work to be done here, some of my work had been accomplished I can now transition back home for a while. My vivid memories of this experience with the World Trade Center international families will be with me for a very long time. See you in Minneapolis soon. -Bob --end-- RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story14.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-10-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.123.125.147 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I have submitted information about my 9/11/01 work with interntional victim families of the World Trade Center. It may be of additional interest to know of the work done for the first anniversary commemoration services. That report is attached. RC Story: Response ACTIVITY REPORT August 18 September 13, 2002 Robert N. Munson Emergency Service Director Minneapolis Area Chapter American Red Cross ON ASSIGNMENT: International Family Assistance Program 9-11 Memorial Events ARC International Disaster Response Unit August 19 to September 8: Washington DC National Headquarters, American Red Cross September 8 to 13: New York City I was called to this assignment because I am a member of the American Red Cross International Response Team (IRT), a small group of people trained to deal with policies and activities of the ARC during catastrophic international disasters. Additionally I was called because I was one of the IRT team members setting up the original response to bereaved foreign nationals who lost family members on 9-11-01 in the World Trade Center, New York, and also because I am English/Spanish bi-lingual. This year, family members from around the world have been invited by the American Red Cross to come to the United States for condolence visits or memorial services with relatives living in New York. They came last September, and later in October when the city held the first Memorial Service. The travel was separate from the financial support given to each domestic and international family affected by the WTC attack. Families again were invited to New York for the 9-11-02 Memorial Services. Several hundred came, and my primary work group of three people was responsible for some two hundred who were in need of supportive local arrangements including participation in memorial events. Other visitors were part of larger national groups (Japanese, British, Australians, Canadians) whose consulate representatives made many of the local arrangements to supplement the American Red Cross travel arrangements. My specific assignment was to make arrangements for, and work with, the international Red Cross, Red Crescent, and Magan David Adom National Society social workers who had been working locally in their own countries with the issues surrounding the WTC deaths of family members. Workers from the 65 nationalities represented in the WTC deaths were invited, and 32 came to New York on September 9th from 30 countries. Peru had more than one representative. Only the principle direct service worker from each country was invited. It was intended that coming to New York was a working trip for those involved this last year. Much of my three weeks at Red Cross NHQ in Washington was consumed with the program planning for the visit, and international travel and document logistics for each individual traveler. The reason for these National Society workers to come was (1) to be a continuing support to the families who were traveling to New York from their countries, and (2) to assist the American Red Cross in evaluating our international communications and relationships during times of catastrophic disaster response. Our National Society visitors were from: Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, The Gambia, Germany, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Israel, Jamaica, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Thailand, and Venezuela. Everyone was scheduled for a Monday, 9/9/02 arrival in New York, and a Friday, 9/13/02 departure. All were booked into the same hotel. Several of the international staff from NHQ in Washington also attended as these are the staff persons working electronically with the National Society visitors on a regular basis. On Tuesday, 9/10, a five-hour session was held in our hotel which included a lessons learned evaluation session, an American Red Cross recognition of the work done internationally, and an informal reception for networking. The lessons learned was modeled after our usual disaster critique of (1) what did we do, (2) what went well, and (3) what would we do differently next time. I led much of this session bi-lingually. A few of the lessons learned included: (1) systems were set up in the manner of other international disasters which worked, although nothing this expansive had been done before, (2) ARC was efficient enough that it appeared overseas that the American staff was much larger than it was; (3) communication via electronics was rapid, but more could be done 24/7 because of the time-zones, and the international hunger for information, (3) rosters of international responders would be helpful so all participants would know who is working at the time. Many other ideas were generated and noted by the Americans for fine-tuning future responses (all responses were noted by NHQ staff). Wednesday, 9-11, was reserved for families at Ground Zero. Our National Society visitors accompanied families there, or attended memorial services throughout New York. I was designated by the team to be one of the ARC to get Red Cross and government clearance to Ground Zero. This needed to be done at 4:45 am to avoid unauthorized credentialing. With the background of the bag-pipers marching from all boroughs to the WTC site, we returned to hotels where families were staying to help facilitate their transportation and entrance to Ground Zero. I accompanied a Peruvian family and we were invited to be transported on a bus with Australian families. The atmosphere was laden with drama and the eerie hush of thousands of people introverting into their own thoughts. The reading of the names began, and one family at a time left the general area to walk down the ramp into the pit and place flowers in the circle. Bright sunshine spotlighted the swirling dust created by the high winds of the day. Some saw the dust in allegory of heavenly support I recalled the last time I was at this site, and the smoke of destruction was still coming from the pit. Later, much of New York paused for candle vigils in all boroughs, fire stations, remembrance-decorated fences, and at concerts. Thursday, 9-12, I had arranged that our National Society visitors would have a guided harbor tour of New York with six-language headsets. After the heaviness of the last two days, this was a respite and a time for international bonding which was wonderful to see. Many photos were taken of the sites, each other, of the Americans, and of every possible combination of nationalities. The last event of the National Society visit was a private Port Authority tour of the WTC site from the high-security family viewing area. At the end, I was asked by the guide to announce the nationalities of the group. I read each country from my list so that the representative could individually acknowledge their presence at Ground Zero. This was unplanned, but appeared to be a significant highlight of their trip, and one that undoubtedly will be retold to their co-workers around the world. Personal evaluation: although the four weeks was a long and sometimes draining assignment, I felt that I was of direct and positive assistance to the NHQ staff. This was confirmed by the very generous words of gratitude given to me by our National Society visitors, and most importantly by my NHQ co-workers. I routinely told people that I was on loan from Minneapolis, and that it was because of the generosity of our administration, and the talent of my staff that I was able to be gone so long, and assist in this important international work. I now have devoted 7 weeks of this last year away from the chapter for this significant disaster. Additionally at this time I have given over 30 presentations to nearly 2,000 people about the work of the American Red Cross following 9-11. This has all been a period of deep personal satisfaction because of the work accomplished, and additionally has had an undeniable personal affect to my life. Bob RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story15.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-10-27 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 24.123.125.147 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I was woke up by a frantic phone call from I think my cousin I never asked who called.He is a paramedic supervisor for Queens and Brooklyn hospitals. All I heard was "look....window.....move it!!!!" So I looked, I have a 7"high by 8" wide window view of Manhatten more prominently the WTC. I damn near hit the floor when I saw one tower was billowing smoke. I franticaly got dressed grabed my jump packs and hit the road, I to am a New York medic. I did get threw to him a short time later, around he told me to stay away, HELL NO!! I went in anyway, no way was I going to sit back, it's my job to help those in need, they call "we" come no matter what the incedent. You can imagine how the rest of my day was.....enough said. RC Story: Response I did my job giving medical attention to those in need, providing support in any way required. I was also able to obtain a large truck and got it filled by a local grocery store, water, caned foot, ect. when I had done all I could in the initial phase and it was clear we had a recovery situation not rescue, so I turned my attention to the salvage of ems vehicles so we could continue to provide any emergency medical transports that might arise. In the days..weeks...months ahead I gave all I could to support those in the recovery of the victims, and my comrads who in the face of insanity and horror had the courage to stay in harms way to save as many poeple as they could. One final thing, to the family members of the passengers on flight 93, the fallen police, firemen and medics, There is no greater love of humanity, than to give ones self that others may live. RC Story: RC Volunteer no RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story16.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-10-29 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 162.83.213.89 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story My name is Rob Webb and I live in Bristol, TN. September 11th. I had just gotten out of bed and turned on the TV to watch the Today show. The first plane had just hit and Matt Lauer was stating that they were trying to get confirmation of the plane crashing into the World Trade Center. I am a Red Cross Volunteer and do National Disaster Response so I called my Local Chapter and let them know what was happening and then I called my parents in West Virginia to ask her if they knew what had just happened. Me and my mother were on the phone when the second plane hit and I knew then that something really bad was happening. I went down to my Local Chapter a few blocks away in Bristol, VA and watched in horror as the towers collapsed. RC Story: Response Due to the airports being closed and the chaos I wasn't able to go to New York for Disaster Response until October 5th. I worked at as a 12-8 Shift Supervisor at Ground Zero in Respite Center 1 located in St. Johns University. I worked for a few weeks, went home for a few weeks, went back and worked again as a 12-8 Shift Supervisor at Ground Zero in Respite Center 1. I helped close that Respite Center on December 2cnd and then went to work at the Staten Island Landfill. After a little over a week at the landfill I went home and it took a month of intense emotional dealings before I could go back to help the People of New York again in March. I worked at Red Cross Disaster Headquarters in Brooklyn this time as a Courier for 42 days. I saw the World Trade Center from near the beginning until near its end and met a lot of great people in between. I have several friends that I made while there and still keep in touch. RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story17.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-12-07 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 68.184.170.218 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I was in jail, watching the TV, when the show that we were watching was interrupted and the news came on and said that one of the towers had been hit. At first, everyone thought that it might have been a terrible accident. But, when they came on and said that the Pentagon had been hit, there was no question about it. As soon as the Pentagon story came on I had to make a phone call, as one of my old Navy buddys was stationed there. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get through for about 12 hours, and when I did, it wasn't good news. He had been one of the many casualties of the strike on the U.S. I still pray that the people that sponsored this will be brought to justice, and be made to pay for these attrocities. RC Story: Response Unfortunately, being in jail there wasn't much that I could do except to make a small donation to the relief effort. RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story18.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-12-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 67.122.190.26 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I was in my second day of orientation at Einstein Medical Center as a new-grad emergency room RN. They let us out early, of course, and my husband came to pick me up. Somehow taking the subway seemed too menacing. My recollection is that without having heard a call to do so, we drove to the Red Cross center on Spring Garden Street to donate blood. I really do think we just KNEW that that's what we were supposed to do, somehow. It turned out everyone else knew that, too, and after a lengthy wait, we were told that we would be contacted if our blood was needed later on. I don't remember disappointment or anything like that--I remember how amazing it was to be with all those other people, and the feeling that in a crisis we had all had the same response. That's the power of the Red Cross, isn't it? RC Story: Response RC Story: RC Volunteer no RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story19.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-09 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 80.131.79.68 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I was training that day and had a new class that had just started. When we heard what was happening, everyone was so upset and the new staff certainly weren't in any frame of mind to learn anything so we gave them a quick course on beltline and put them to work. This freed me up to work in our Center. We had a tremendous response ( we had so many donors that we had to open up our auditorium so that they would have a place to sit). Our staff worked with such compassion and without any complaints well into the night. Donors were waiting as long as 5-6 hours to donate and for once no one complained about the long waits. Donors were even helping out by manning the registration stations and making red, white & blue ribbons for everyone to wear ( they were incredible!) This was happening at all our bloodmobiles and fixed sites that day. The emotions were running high from both donors and staff. Everyone felt so helpless and wanted so badly to do something. I needed to work to fill the hours until I could hear from my daughter and my brother that day. Both were scheduled to be on a plane that day and I couldn't get in touch with either one of them. I finally heard from my daughter around 1PM and I can't even begin to express my relief when I heard her voice. It still tear up even after all this time when I think about it. My brother finally called me at 10PM that night. He had been helping people all day to evacuate NY city. He lived in New Jersey and worked in NY....He was crossing the bridge into NY and actually saw the second plane hit. He told me that he had a meeting schedule that day at the World Trade Building, but his plans changed at the last minute. The meeting went on and all who attending were lost. He was devastated and spent a great deal of time with the families of those that were lost. September the 11th will be with me always. I experienced such a range of emotions that day....extreme fear, grief, frustration, helplessness, a sense of great loss, gratitude and joy that my family were all safe and such sadness for all that lost their lives that day. RC Story: Response Like everyone around me.....You simply did not think about yourself, but rather the needs of our community. They were feeling such helplessness and such a great need to "do something" and also to be with other people. Some had families in NY and Washington and just wanted to be with someone who would listen with compassion and understanding. We spent more time than usual with our donors that day just listening and crying with them. RC Story: RC Volunteer no RC Story: RC Employee yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story2.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2003-09-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 162.6.218.122 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story We lived in Washington state, and had to travel to Indiana to attend the funeral of my then-wife's grandmother. We were supposed to leave on September 12, but events of the day dictated otherwise. My watch was set on West Coast time, so my mother-in-law broke the news to us around 6:30, PDT (8:30 Central Time.) We just could not believe what was going on. When we heard that about the plane going down in Pennsylvania, I thought it was unrelated. When the South tower came down, I didn't know it, but seven people who I did business with became "missing." We were horribly gouged, and a lot of people were scared, but we also saw the best of America that day. In fact, my Boy Scout training kicked in that day when I was able to take stock of our situation, what resources we had, and so on. I'd hate to go through that again, but I am glad for my Boy Scout training which helped see us through. RC Story: Response I wanted to give blood, because I have a rare type (AB +), but the place was CROWDED! There were still lines when the place closed for the day. I cried, because it seemed that all of America turned out there in Terre Haute, people flying flags, volunteering to do rescue work in New York, and in general helping each other. I was proud to be an American that day, and have been since. RC Story: RC Volunteer no RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story20.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-18 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.95.4.118 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I was at work, with my computer on when I recieved a news alert from CNN. I was horrified with the first attack, but like everyone else I thought it was a horrific accident. Then the next tower was hit. I didn't think it was an accident any longer, but terrorism never entered my mind. I didn't know what to think. I had an Dr's appt. a couple hours later and had to leave work. When I got to the hospital, everyone was standing around the tv's as the first tower fell. We all wept. Patients, Dr's, Nurses. I drove home an hour later, with such a sense of erieness, no planes in the sky. It was so quiet, and so scarey. Our lives will never again be the same. With every tragedy we will think terrorism. Isn't that what they want though. RC Story: Response I dontated blood. My husband volunteered for the Red Cross. He was one of the first to be on the security team at Ground Zero. RC Story: RC Volunteer no RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story21.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-25 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 141.149.234.3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I was interviewing for a job with the Girl Scouts and was speaking with the executive director of the NE area. During the interview, we heard crying and screaming from people in the offices next to us. A women came to the door and screamed that we (the US) were under attack. She said they were bombing the White House and New York City. The interviewer immediately stopped the interview and explained that she was an officer in the Army and needed to report to her supervisors. The next thing I remember was leaving in bewilderment and listening to NPR trying to understand everything that was happening. I went directly to a hotel lobby and asked them to turn on the tv. That is when we saw the two towers in smoke. People started gathering and we all stood quietly, watching. No one moved until the first tower fell. Then most of us screamed at the television and at the reality of it all. RC Story: Response I waited in line to give blood. RC Story: RC Volunteer no RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story22.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-01-28 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 128.227.50.254 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I had just turned on the tv and heard the horrified voices of the newscasters and as my husband came down the stairs then the second plane hit the second tower. We spent the whole day watching the news and following the story. It was unbelievable and so hard to imagine what was going on. Wondering if and when and where these people would strike again. RC Story: Response As I am a volunteer with the local Red Cross chapter and a memeber of the DSHR I knew that with the magnitude of this I would be called to respond so I began preparing a suitcase so that I would be ready when the call came. It took two days to get arrangements made to get there, changes, etc. then I had to overnight in PA before arriving in NY on Sat. I was in NY on assignment thru the 8th of Oct. I hope that I never have to respond to a disaster of this magnitude again! It was such an overwhelming experience for all of us that were on assignment. I was proud to have been able to help. RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story23.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-02-17 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 206.228.148.22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I woke up to radio news reports of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center. I immediately turned on the television and was greeted by the image of the South Tower collapsing in living color on CNN. I called in to my American Red Cross chapter, the Oregon Trail Chapter in Portland, Oregon, where I am both a local disaster responder and a national disaster responder specializing in Public Affairs. I reported to our disaster human resources coordinator that I would be available to respond. I went back to watching the news, and saw Tower 1 collapse a few minutes later. RC Story: Response Shortly after calling in to the chapter, I received a call back from our Public Affairs Manager asking me to report to the chapter and assist with our local media response. I did so and spent most of the next 10 days working on news media contacts, talking to Red Cross Public Affairs responders already on the ground in New York and at the Pentagon, photographing related events at the chapter such as donor check presentations, assisting with VIP visits, and also assisting the Public Affairs staff at the regional Blood Services center, which shared our building. While assisting on local activities, I remained on call to respond nationally. I "got the call" Sep. 20 to respond to the disaster relief operation at the Pentagon, and departed Sep. 21. I spent the next week on site at the Pentagon, photographing the recovery and relief activities, supporting public functions in the Washington, D.C. area, responding to media inquiries and requests, and creating media products such as the operation newsletter. On Sep. 27, I was notified that I would be going to New York City the following day. After closing out my task at the Pentagon, I took a train to New York and reported in to the headquarters there. For the next two weeks, I worked at our operation headquarters in Brooklyn and at several Red Cross relief sites in lower Manhattan close to the World Trade Center site, including Service Centers 1 and 2 and Respite Centers 1 and 3. I also spent time working at the city's Family Assistance Center at Pier 94, as well as the Joint Information Center at the FEMA field headquarters. One of my most significant memories of this period was supporting the activities in Respite Centers 1 and three, which assistied the thousands of rescue and recovery workers clearing the World Trade Center site. I photographed the activities there, and provided information to our clients on the available services we offered. I was struck by the care and concern shown toward them, even in little touches such as placing chocolates and teddy bears on the cots in the sleeping areas were they could go to get a few hours rest. During the first weekend in October, I also participated in the activities of the "Flight For Freedom", a group of nearly 1,000 fellow Oregonians who traveled to New York City in a show of fellowship and solidarity. During their stay, I attended their rally at Union Square, led a group of them to lower Manhattan to see some of our relief sites and to visit "Ground Zero", did a news segment with a film crew from the Portland CBS affiliate, and marched with them up 5th Avenue in the city's annual Columbus Day parade. I also vividly remember Oct. 11, when I was asked to photograph activities at our newest Respite Center, #3, which had opened a few days previously. To get to the site, you had to walk down West Street from Respite 1, right past the debris pile that had been the two WTC towers. To be right up there as close as 50 feet from what was both a crime scene and a massive tomb, with hundreds of relief workers busily working around me, was at once both awe-inspiring and sobering, especially after I saw the "cross", a twisted, jagged piece of structural steel in the shape of a cross, that relief crews had excavated from the rubble and placed on a concrete pedestal along the street as a sign of inspiration. And to experience this on what was my 49th birthday... Returning to Portland Oct. 13, I continued to respond locally and, as a disaster services course instructor in Public Affairs, began to incorporate some of the early lessons learned into my cousre material. Since the response in New York City was then and still is an ongoing effort, I decided to go back for a second assignment. I traveled to New York City Dec. 10 and spent the next 18 days again supporting our Public Affairs efforts. Since this was during the holiday season, I had the opportunity to experience Christmas in New York while helping our thousands of clients and responders. On one of my days off, I visited a New York Fire Department station near Times Square that had lost a firefighter on Sep. 11 who had the same name as me. I thought this was important for me to do so since I am also a volunteer firefighter. I talked to some of his brother firefighters, and placed several items on the memorial that they had placed at the station. One of the my most significant memories from this assignment took place on Christmas Eve. We had closed our service centers early that day because a local organization was providing a Christmas party for our responders. I had stopped in at one of our service centers in lower Manhattan to check on our Public Affairs responder there, and encountered a client who was running late and arrived too late to see a caseworker. She had had some difficulties redeeming the assistance vouchers we had provided her, and had returned to get the problem resolved. The vouchers were important to her because she needed to take them to her market and get groceries, including Christmas dinner for her family. I could not, in good conscience, let her leave without help, so I pulled out my wallet and handed her my remaining $25 in cash to ensure that she could at least have dinner for her family. She hugged me and said "God bless you" as we both left the building, and I could feel the tears in my eyes as I headed uptown for our party. Since my return home to Portland Dec. 28, I continued to incorporate my lessons learned into my instructor materials and into my local response activities. I archived the photographs that I took for the Red Cross while on assignment there, and have since provided them to the Red Cross Sept. 11 Recovery Program, where they are now part of their permanent archive. RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story24.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-02-20 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.189.99.42 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story I was in school, and I remember the principal announcing that every class turn on the T.V. He then went on to say that the 1st tower had been hit by a plane. Everyone was in total shock. I was watching the news, when all of a sudden my classmates and I saw the second plane hit. We were in complete shock. A few Air Force jets flew over our school, sending us into total panic. We all thought we were all going to be under attack. Some of us were crying, while others just sat and stared blankly at the television. This whole thing just seemed unreal. I called my parents and they came and got me from school. We spent the reat of the day praying and watching the news. RC Story: Response People in my community were very shaken by this tragic event. I helped local churches set-up special prayer services; and every morning some of my fellow peers and I would gather around the school's flag pole, join hands, and pray for America, and all the families that were suffering, and the victims of 9/11. RC Story: RC Volunteer no RC Story: RC Employee no Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story25.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. anonymously Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-03-22 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 207.73.91.254 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Red Cross Museum Stories Description An account of the resource A collection of stories from Red Cross Volunteers who provided emergency response in the wake of the September 11th attacks. RC Story RC Story: Story That day I was in the Dallas chapter training for Americorp/Corps Across Texas. We were in the middle of a class when our director at that time, Rena, came in and told us what was happening. We turned on the tv in the room and we saw all the news about it. RC Story: Response We as a group were asked if we wanted to help answer phones since all national phone calls were being transferred to the chapter. I said yes and volunteered to dp the night shift, 7pm to 7am. We were responsible on answering the hotline and take well being information about a missing person.I also went to New Jersey in the month of November to help with the assistance center there. I was there for about one month helping with Mass Care at Liberty State Park, where the assistance center was at. RC Story: RC Volunteer yes RC Story: RC Employee yes Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource rc_story26.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2004-04-02 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 4.37.217.252