Christopher oral history interview conducted by Julie Broihier, October 5, 2010

About

Christopher was a college student at St. John's University and a member of the Army National Guard at the time of the attacks on 9/11. He was getting ready to go to class on 9/11 when a friend called him to tell him the US was under attack. Christopher was a ROTC Platoon Leader and immediately headed for the Armory on Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx. Because of the chaos at Ground Zero, his platoon was ordered not to go to the site until 9/12. Christopher arrived on a bus from the Bronx at 9 AM on 9/12 and described the area as desolate. He saw papers all over the place and although he did have a respirator, he said there was a "heavy chemical smell in the air." He knew after a half hour that no one was alive. Christopher's job at Ground Zero was security on the east side of the pile to stop people, photographers, etc. from entering the site. While walking to the east side of Ground Zero, he was approached by family members asking him to look for their loved ones. Trying to instill confidence in the family members was the most difficult part of his time at the site. He also tried to instill confidence in his Platoon and said everyone under his command handled the situation well. He described a huge "influx of materials" that were stored in the Javits Center. Eventually his platoon was ordered to move the materials from the Javits Center to a warehouse in Westbury, Long Island. Christopher felt there was a stark difference in the treatment of the responders in Westbury than in…

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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