Fred Meyer oral history interview conducted by Melodie Guerrera, September 21, 2010

About

Fred, a volunteer firefighter, worked in the communications sector for Cablevision on 9/11/2001. He was also involved in restoring some of the communications equipment after the 1993 World Trade Center firebomb. After 9/11/2001, Fred got a call from the Fire Department asking if he wanted to assist in the WTC attacks recovery effort. He felt it was his responsibility to go. They used light trucks from the Department of Suffolk County. Fred arrived at the WTC site on 9/15/2001, and recalls "it was pitch dark and you couldn't see anything" and "the whole area was filled with dust. . .like powder." He spent 5 hours at Ground Zero providing lighting to the area so that workers could clean up the site. He remembers that civilians weren't allowed into the area. The area was mostly full of construction workers and welders. The sanitation department had giant vacuum trucks to aid with the recovery and clean-up process. On reflection, Fred said, "I believe we all lived through 9/11. . .the whole country did," but said, "The problem with American society is that we have short-term memory. . .we forget."

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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