Excerpts of Robert Edwin Jr. oral history interview conducted by Julie Broihier, September 30, 2010

About

Robert is a detective who was off duty on 9/11 when the attacks occurred. He remembers the commute into Manhattan taking half the usual time, as the highway was only open to first responders and everyone sped to get into the city. Looking from the roof of the police precinct, Robert remembers downtown Manhattan was lit like a sunset, even though it was already well past 10 in the evening that first night. He says it looked like “the sun just wouldn’t go down in Manhattan.” He recalls that there were three work zones: Ground Zero, the Manhattan morgue, and the Staten Island landfill where he first worked. He remembers seeing mangled firetrucks and police cars, and compacted 8-foot-tall cubes that were really multiple stories of the WTC. He recalls Manhattan looking like a war zone, with mountains of rubble. At one point he was atop the rubble when an alarm went off signaling a possible collapse. With nowhere to run to he said he could feel what those in the WTC must have felt during the attacks and unable to escape. Robert reflects that after some time his hope of recovering people dimmed, as they continued to sort through body parts, wallets, watches, and other items to be returned to families. Robert remembers the positive impact of seeing how law enforcement, firemen, first responders, construction workers, and others who came from out of state or another country all responded to the attacks. Robert recalls that New Yorkers were appreciative of their efforts, and it made…

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English

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United States

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