Rafael Orozco oral history interview conducted by Dr. Benjamin Luft, July 27, 2010

About

The day before 9/11, Rafael, an NYPD detective, was at the South Street Seaport with his son, and saw "ominous" clouds over the Twin Towers, foreshadowing what was to come. On 9/11, Rafael witnessed the first plane hit the North Tower as his police van was being serviced at a Brooklyn car wash. At his command post, they watched the towers fall on TV, and heard the calls for help from the officers in the buildings. Everyone was crying, and all Rafael could do was turn the radio off, so that they could prepare themselves to go to the site to save those they could. "It was one of the most helpless moments of my life," he said. At the site, they began searching through rubble with their bare hands, which proved a fruitless task. They then were told to assist in evacuating the area. Rafael was close to Building 7 when he noticed flames. He ran for his life when it collapsed. He worked 72 hours straight and was unable to contact his family during that time to let them know he was okay. He went from building to building, searching for people, and securing the area. The military had invoked "a quasi-martial law" from Houston Street to Battery Park. When it became clear they would not find any survivors, Rafael was assigned to escort people in and out of the site, including family members searching for those who were lost, and to serve as a Spanish language translator.

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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