Joseph Grimm oral history interview conducted by Amanda Mancuso, June 26, 2014

About

Joe was a detective in the NYPD on 9/11. On 9/14, his squad was sent to work on the bucket brigade, just in jeans, t-shirts, and jackets. He and his partner Brian were supposed to work only a twelve-hour shift but they were there for at least twenty hours. The devastation was horrible. At the ledge of the pit, a priest was blessing every person going into it. This made him realize how dangerous it was. Debris was still falling. "Tons and tons of debris, tons of cops, just everyone -- PD, FD, union workers" filling buckets with debris, using their bare hands, passing the buckets down the line to be emptied. After three days, they were given paper face masks. Once Joe was assigned to Fresh Kills Landfill, he was given a Tyvek suit and a good mask. It was horrible at the morgue. "I've seen dead bodies, dead babies in the street. These bodies looked like dirty gray carpets." Whenever a firefighter's body was brought in, they would all line up outside and the ambulance would drive slowly by while they saluted. At the landfill, while sifting through the debris on the conveyor belt, they thought they saw a police shield. They sorted through the huge pile until they found it. It was Moira Smith's shield. The Red Cross volunteers at the landfill were always smiling, and Joe was amazed that they would leave their homes and come to this "pile of debris and death" to help. Joe recalls his longtime partner, Brian Mann, as the best partner one could have. "When I was tired and cold, he…

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Library of Congress

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English

Country

United States

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