Edward Wurglics oral history interview conducted by Melodie Guerrera, November 16, 2010

About

Edward is a NYC Department of Transportation worker with 26 years of service. On 9/11, he was working in his present job and had taken an annual day off from work to go fishing on the Jersey Shore with his friend Tommy. They heard over 1010 Wins about a plane that hit the towers, and when they stopped to take out their binoculars, they saw the second plane hit the tower. Right away, he thought "We're under attack." He rushed home via Ocean Parkway over the Robert Moses Bridge and went to work. He remembers there was mandatory overtime and everyone was on emergency standby. After his shift, he packed his gloves, vest, and helmet and proceeded to the site. He remembers, "I couldn't breathe, my nose was clogged, my eyes were burning." He got an id tag and walked four blocks to the site. He said, "Standing there, I thought I was on another planet." He was ready to jump in and do anything and so went around asking cops, ironworkers and firemen what he could do. He was amazed at how people came together "naturally" and how people concentrated on what they did. He remembers, "It didn't matter whether you had a uniform on. . .there was no rank," and that it was different from standard New York attitudes. He worked on the bucket brigade as a volunteer, leaving his job at 5:30 PM and driving into the city to volunteer from 6:30 PM to 2 A.M. He recalls that "There was no night or day." He got fatigued by working there. He gradually accepted that they wouldn't find survivors and did…

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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