Excerpts of Albert Meller oral history interview conducted by Melodie Guerrera, October 15, 2010

About

Albert was a police detective working with the 75th precinct detective squad when asked if there were any people who wanted to volunteer at the landfill. Albert volunteered multiple days in a row and eventually was “temporarily permanently” assigned to work at the landfill and the mortuary sifting through debris and identifying human remains. His initial duties were fingerprinting and then he was sent to triaging, which included assessing human remains in various states and conditions. He worked 6 days a week for 12 hours, 4 pm to 4 am, with a mandatory 7th day off as a mental health day. For work, he was on a team of 5 sifting remains, which included a forensic anthropologist. Himself and the others eventually learned from the experience, and with help from the anthropologist, to identify bones and remains in various states. He states, “every piece of remains was treated with the utmost respect, as if it was one of our family members,” and reflects on how no one on site used film or video cameras as the site was a “no camera zone.” Albert was there as he felt “there was a mission to be tended to.” He reflects on how his schedule did not allow much time with his family, due to the unusual hours of his schedule or because he was mostly sleeping while he was home. This experience was a humbling one, and he ends the interview stating, that as a New York City police detective, “you’re conditioned to take care of the citizens; you’re conditioned to take care of people. You’re…

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Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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