# Andrew J. Pappas oral history interview conducted by Laurel Gumpert, April 16, 2020

Andrew, who is a married graduate school student at the time of this interview, was eleven years old, in middle school on 9/11. He realized something very serious had happened when he arrived home from school that day to see his parents distraught. When the family found out that his dad was leaving to work at Ground Zero, they were extremely upset. His dad was responsible for pumping water out of the buildings and getting the power back up and running. They were able to talk with him each day, but Andrew noticed that his father's mood was changing the longer he stayed. Andrew's dad worked there for about fifteen days, but he came back a different person with a lot of negative feelings. He brought photographs of the rubble, which allowed Andrew to understand a little better what his dad had experienced. One of his more memorable stories was about how the service dogs were getting depressed from not finding any people alive. The first responders helped solve this by hiding in the rubble and letting the dogs find them to allow them to feel a sense of accomplishment. After 9/11, Andrew's father found it very difficult to go back to work. He was hospitalized for about five months due to his depression and Andrew's mother had to manage the household by herself. It hurt Andrew to see his dad struggling each day. Andrew recently experienced depression himself and his dad helped him through every step of recovery. His bond with his father has never been stronger and they both…

- Kind: Interview
- Year: 2020
- Runtime: 49 min
- By: Pappas, Andrew J.
- Genres: History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2015048_426/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/afc2015048_426?play=1)