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knew very well from our DMORT annual training sessions. Our day started at 06:00 with a quick check of our posted daily assignments and a briefing by the unit commander focusing on any problems we might experience, any changes in the routines, anything and everything that might affect the operation of the teams. Every morning we had a "pep talk" of sorts by the unit psychologist who helped everyone cope, encouraging us to talk about anything that was bothering us or to seek help if we felt we were having problems. She also arranged for activities like Broadway shows, city tours, boat tours, etc. However, our work schedule didn't allow much time for these activities. But we all appreciated her efforts.
By about 06:20, we loaded onto 2 buses to head for Manhattan, often with a police escort to help us get through the traffic more easily. The first day, John Filippi and I were assigned to Ground Zero at a place called Trinity Church. At that location there was a temporary morgue operation that was being moved. We spent the day there and had the opportunity and honor to witness the recovery of what they called a "Member of Service" (a firefighter or police officer). The respect and honor the rescuers gave these victims was very moving. The victims were placed on gurneys and the remains covered with an American Flag. As the remains were moved to an ambulance, all rescuers and workers in the vicinity removed their hats, stood at attention and saluted their fallen comrade. Once the victim had been placed in the ambulance, he was transferred to the coroner's office/morgue with a police escort to be identified, prepared and, ultimately, returned to the family.
After the first day, John and I were assigned to the Coroner's Office where the morgue operation was set up adjacent to the NYU Hospital. We usually arrived at about 07:00 after a 30 to 45 minute bus ride (depending on the traffic) and was greeted by the night shift, waiting for our buses to take them back to the hotel for a good days' sleep. As we exited the buses, the anthropologists, medical examiners and the funeral directors went to the morgue, the odontologists went to the operation center to be assigned our day's duties. A few went to post-mortem but most of us were assigned to ante-mortem, the busiest place for the dentists. Each day we collected charts and data that had arrived from the victims' dentists. The victim's dentition was charted from the records provided by the dentist and entered in the computer. Unfortunately, this was a daunting task due to the number of victims involved. Because of the relatively few dental remains being recovered, the post-mortem odontology area was often not very busy. Whenever we did receive post-mortem radiographs, they were immediately entered into the computer and a search was run to see if we could get a "hit" (a possible ID). Considering the conditions, every identification was a victory.
Our 30 minute lunch break was a real treat for us as it was about the only time we had to get out into the city. The Salvation Army had food tents in the street where we could get just about anything from soup and sandwiches to hot meals. There were also tables that had snack foods and soft drinks on them. We especially enjoyed the candy bars and cookies that had been donated by young New Yorkers. Often there were thank-you notes wrapped around the candy bars or taped to the packages of cookies from the kids who donated the items. Many long afternoons were brightened by those notes as well as the candy and cookies. Lunch also gave us a few minutes to walk around and stretch our legs. We were often stopped by New Yorkers on the street and thanked for our help.
Our workday ended at 19:00 (7:00 pm). John Filippi, as leader of the ante-mortem section, would stay behind to brief the night shift on what we had accomplished and what was in the works during our shift to insure a smooth transition. The rest of us would hurry to the street to wait for the buses bringing the night shift to work that would take us back to the hotel for dinner and bed. On the bus ride back to the hotel we would talk to the Anthropologists, Medical Examiners and the Funeral Directors about their day. John would get a ride back to the hotel with one of the Deputy County Sheriffs that were at our disposal for transportation. Our day usually ended with groups of us sitting around exchanging stories and trying to put the day's activities into perspective.
I am very proud of the contribution that dentistry played in aiding in the identification of the victims of this horrendous act. The DMORT Teams were well trained and the operation was extremely well organized and operated. I am very honored to be a member of DMORT and to have had the opportunity to participate in the operation in New York.
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