story1488.xml

story1488.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-26

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. 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. The attack on the World Trade Center was the hardest thing I ever had to witness in my life. I saw things that I never thought I would see in my lifetime. I am dealing with my own personal health issues and demons from those days, and I will be dealing with them for the rest of my life. My heart goes out to everyone who was lost and their families who have to miss them every day and also to all of the great fellow Americans who came to the aid of those affected by the attack of the World Trade Center.
Robert Webb
602 Edgemont Ave.
Bristol, TN 37620
American Red Cross Volunteer
Mass Care Specialist