Michael R. Prate Sr. oral history interview conducted by Julie Broihier, July 16, 2010

About

Michael was an NYPD homicide detective on 9/11, working in Brooklyn. Upon hearing of the attack, Michael went to the top of a building and saw the North Tower on fire. Knowing his brother-in-law and sister-in-law worked in the towers, Michael tried to ascertain their status, but phone service was too spotty. Michael watched the towers collapse from his office. Due to the breakdown in communications, Michael reported to a command center set up in downtown Brooklyn. His team was directed to clear the chaos at a crucial intersection near the Long Island Railroad's Atlantic Terminal, which provided a critical route for emergency vehicles responding to the disaster. After spending eight to nine hours on this task, Michael went to the WTC site which was engulfed in a dust cloud, and saw that "nothing was there," just a huge pile. There was no assignment, Michael just joined the others on the bucket brigade. He began working twelve-hour tours clearing the site plus his regular job as a homicide detective, which made it seem like a "20-hour day." Fortunately, his relatives were safe, but Michael began hearing of others he knew who were gone. Michael spent about a month at Ground Zero and then was assigned to the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island where he sifted through debris transported there by truck from the WTC site, searching for body parts and personal items of the victims. The incongruity of searching for human remains at a "dump" magnified the difficulty of the work.…

Archive

Library of Congress, in Library of Congress

Licence or status

Rights statement at the Library of Congress, as the Library of Congress states it.

Credit

Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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