Reverend Joseph Parrish oral history interview conducted by Amanda Mancuso, July 15, 2014

About

On September 11th, Reverend Parrish received an email from his bishop asking if he would volunteer as a chaplain in a hospital. He went to Trauma One at St. Vincent's Hospital. Very few patients came in because people either got out of the towers and were fine or they were killed. He was given a list of the "most traumatized people" to help, which in turn traumatized him. Among them, he ministered to people burned from head to toe, an elevator repair man who had fallen twelve stories when the cable snapped and survived, and a fireman who was the only survivor in his company. He worked one day on, and one day off to have time to decompress and heal. He stayed at St. Vincent's for about three weeks until all his patients were discharged. Reverend Parrish was involved with the recovery for another nine months. He was asked by the Air Force Command at Pier 49 or 50 to "get things organized." He helped found Disaster Chaplaincy Services to assist the Red Cross. They found many body parts, but mostly just bones. The fires were constantly smoldering and there was a strong smell of decay. What remains with him to this day is the sound of the Scott packs beeping, representing all the FDNY who did not get out. Since 9/11, the way EMS and police are debriefed has changed. They try to get as many chaplains as possible to help and are more aware of the consequences of trauma upon responders.

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Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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