Kim Ambrose oral history interview conducted by Julie Broihier, July 15, 2014

About

On 9/11, Kim, who is an EMT, was involved in the volunteer first aid response in New York and New Jersey. Wanting to attend to the injured, she and her squad were deployed on the day of the attack to the Highlands Docks in New Jersey. The people getting on the boat were totally gray, with tear-streaked faces and terrified eyes. The next day, she arrived at the site itself. Since she was not professionally trained in medicine beyond first aid, and since first aid injuries were relatively uncommon, Kim spent most of her time working on the bucket brigade. She also performed "morgue runs," transferring human remains for identification. Certain items found at the site, including shoes, stuffed animals, and a pristine business card affected her psyche. Upon finding the WTC nursery in the rubble, they were pulling beanie babies out of the ash and debris. That day she broke down and cried for hours at the thought that so many children might have lost their lives. She did not return to the site after 9/14, due to being emotionally and physically overwhelmed that day by the smell of decomposing human remains. Later, she also volunteered in the recovery and relief of Hurricane Katrina.

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

Who can watch

The archive gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from its collection and subjects. How films are placed