Paul A. Kramer oral history interview conducted by Laurel Gumpert, April 21, 2020

About

On the morning of 9/11, Paul was supervising teams of splicing technicians for New York Telephone. When the attacks occurred, his team quickly began setting up communication for the first responders outside of each hospital and at Ground Zero. They gave their radios to the first responders because the antenna on the WTC was already destroyed. Even though everything was covered in gray dust, Paul and his team worked through the intense day and set up phone lines. Paul stayed in Manhattan for three days straight, working to reestablish communication for Wall Street and various buildings after the main cable room was flooded during the disaster. It was eerie at night, no sound or movement besides the generators and the first responders. Even though this situation was horrible, Paul felt a sense of patriotism among all of the people there. Paul worked on this job for two and a half years, setting up temporary telephone cables on the sidewalks and eventually putting them underground. He felt a sense of accomplishment after the job was done, knowing how much work went into fixing the damage from this disaster. Paul began having sinus issues and was referred to the WTC Health Program to get regular screenings. He was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and decreased lung function and is fearful that something worse will come up.

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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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