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CNN Live Today

Recovery Efforts Officially End at Ground Zero

Aired May 30, 2002 - 11:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Up first on CNN, reflection and remembrance. The terrorist attacks on September 11th shattered thousands of lives and reduced the gleaming World Trade Centers to rubble. Since then, workers have toiled around the clock to recover the victims and remove the tons of concrete and twisted steal. Today, that work officially ended.

CNN's Michael Okwu is live at ground zero with the details from there.

Hi there, Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, good morning to you.

The only words that I can describe about this event were, simple, solemn, and, for the most part, silent. This was not a day for long drawn out speeches. In fact, it wasn't a day for speeches of any kind. The events started precisely at 10:29 AM, which is exactly when tower two of the World Trade Center came crashing down.

Now the event started with the traditional ringing of the New York City Fire Department bell. It rang exactly 20 times, four sets of five rings, to signify the signal of when a firefighter has fallen. And then a very, very solemn moment. About 220 representatives from city, state and federal agencies and private organizations who were involved in the cleanup and recovery effort here at ground zero assembled along the ramp that leads in and out of ground zero.

They waited as escorts essentially brought a procession -- started a procession carrying a stretcher with a folded American flag on top of it. This, we were told, signified the 1,720 people, all of whom died on 9/11 and have still not been found or identified.

That stretcher was placed in an ambulance and followed by a prime and drum unit, including players for the New York City Fire Department, as well as the New York City Police Department. You're seeing pictures of the stretcher going into the ambulance even now.

Then a recovery truck, a recovery truck draped in a black cloth, proceeded behind the ramp carrying the very last load of steel, which was a large steel beam that had been at the center, the southernmost tip of the World Trade Center site, essentially used for many, many weeks as a beacon for the buried. Recovery workers used it essentially to find where the largest number, following many, many months, of the dead had been laying. And, in fact, it proved to be quite a beacon for them.

And then, of course, "Taps" was played, "America the Beautiful" was played. And then helicopters flew over the site in formation. The procession, Fredricka, lasted for about 20 minutes or so. It took another five minutes for those recovery workers, police officers and firefighters, to make their way up the ramp.

I'm trying not to overstate this, but I thought that I had seen it all on September 11th and in the weeks following September 11th. But this was a day of high emotion. Even among the very hardened press corps, there were some tears in check. And throughout the course of it all, the whole expanse of lower Manhattan, and certainly this 16-acre site here, there were moments where you could not hear anything.

One of my colleagues, Maria Hinojosa, said that rarely have you ever seen anything move so slowly in New York. And, in fact, that was the case.

I want to talk again about numbers. After September 11th we talked so much about numbers. It was one of the very few ways we could convey to the general public the magnitude of what had happened here. 2,823 people died. And, again, over 1,700 people have yet to be identified. This is the end of a chapter, but certainly not the end of a story -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Michael, there were thousands there, but how does that compare to what the level of expectations were of those attending this ceremony this morning? No exact numbers are in just yet, but how does it compare?

OKWU: Well they were very tightly secure here. There were police officers who were providing security, and there were literally hundreds and hundreds of police officers who were part of the festivities and lined up in formation, clearly, as far as my eyes could see. They had the amount of people here that they expected to have. You couldn't really fit too many more people down here at ground zero.

Again, when I say that it was a spectacle and it was a sight to see -- and I'm trying not to overstate it -- the fact is, to see this many thousands of people assembled here at the very southernmost tip of Manhattan and to not hear anything throughout most of this ceremony was really extraordinary -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you very much, Michael Okwu, from ground zero.

And among the thousands of people witnessing the procession, they're comforting one another, not only just the workers out there, people of all walks of life, including Father Brian Jordan, who is a priest at St. Francis of Assisi Church. It is just a stone's throw away from the disaster site. He was one of the many who was on the scene first up, comforting several families then, as he did today. And he joins us now father Jordan -- father Brian, as we like to call him -- he joins us now from ground zero. You comforted and escorted at least four families to the ceremonies today. How did you find that comforting those families today may have been a little different from the kind of comforting you have been offering them for now eight months?

REV. BRIAN JORDAN, ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH: It's a mutual source of comfort. I also was affected by the loss of loved ones through friends, 11 friends. So bringing four families down here today was a part of our ongoing pilgrimage here to the shrine. And this gives closure to the recovery operation, but the mourning period still continues on.

WHITFIELD: And the comforting that you have been offering the families there and the workers has really evolved. There were so many people whose very immediate feelings were pain, were anger. And then you found an awful lot of the workers, the volunteers there, who felt like this was more than just a labor of love to be at that site every day. How did you offer them comfort?

JORDAN: Well it's a job of a priest to give comfort and help the people out in desperate situations, especially as dark as this. I just listened to them mostly, I comforted them, I cried with them, I laughed with them whenever it was possible. I talked with them on the phone in a constant basis. They're with me all the time, I'm with them all the time. It's just the ongoing presence of being there with someone.

No woman, no man is an island. We all need each other. And especially in times like this, it's my job as a Catholic priest to help out the people of God in these particular matters.

WHITFIELD: And leading us to today, what did volunteers and workers there express to you as to what they thought would be the appropriate most fitting way in which to memorialize the end of the ground zero work there?

JORDAN: That's an excellent question. We discussed with my fellow workers and volunteers (UNINTELLIGIBLE) whether it be down in the hole or in the tent around there, what would be the ideal ceremony? And we all agreed unanimously there should be no speeches, there should be a short ceremony. The economy of expression and that we understand that actions speak louder than words. And the actions that we've seen here today truly spoke for themselves so eloquently, so lovingly, so touchingly. And all of us were deeply moved by the ceremony and we're grateful for those who prepared it that they listened to our input and they listen to the economy of expression, which truly deserves respect and reverence on this sacred and hallow ground.

WHITFIELD: And now that that ceremony is over, do you feel now, looking back at this ceremony, that this really was the most fitting, the most appropriate way in which to memorialize so many people who have died and so many who have given countless hours to help?

JORDAN: This is just a transition step. This will be the first of many times to give a memorial. It's a shrine. We are not only honoring the dead, we're also giving honor and respect to those who worked here. So we bless the dead and we give consolation to the living, especially for the family members here.

This is just the first of many steps for their own transition process to deal with the grief and bereavement and sense of loss that they have. Again, I reiterate, this is the closure of the recovery operation. But the mourning period still continues on. And my job as a priest and many other people of religious faiths and backgrounds will offer help and consolation on an ongoing basis.

WHITFIELD: And the grieving does still continue for so many family members, and people who have been victimized in so many different levels have said that it has been difficult to laugh or even smile. There have been countless low points. What kind of high points have you been able to extract from this entire experience?

JORDAN: I guess that the key thing for many family members will be the ability and the willingness to come here. There's a lot of hesitation and resistance to do. And if we talk to them and we convince them to come here just to have a sense of peace and closure and say goodbye spiritually and emotionally to their loved one.

Secondly, with the ongoing brief process, this is a horrible, despicable attack. It has no parallel within U.S. history. So this type of horrible attack is going to take longer with the grief and bereavement process. That's why I encourage people to go to support groups, go to their clergy members, go to their grief counselors, whatever, to talk to someone. Don't be isolated. We're all in this together.

We in America all have been victimized by this terrible attack and we all want to help each other out as sisters and brothers of the same God.

WHITFIELD: All right. Father Brian, well said. Thank you very much for joining us this morning.

JORDAN: Thank you very much as well.

WHITFIELD: Now the loss to the New York City Fire Department on September 11th was staggering; 343 firefighters died in their efforts to save others. Five of the firefighters were from engine three, ladder 12, in Chelsea. And our Jason Carroll is at the firehouse there this morning.

Hi there, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Fredricka.

I have to tell you, standing here in this intimate setting when that ceremony was taking place, it was an incredibly moving moment, not just for me, but obviously for everyone who came here today to Engine Company Number 3.

Why don't you take a look. You can see the room is still filled with some of the firefighters. Some of the victims' family members are here as well. Everyone coming together for support during this very sensitive time. At one point during this ceremony, the chaplain stood up in front of the room and he read part of a prayer. He said, "We cannot bring people back, but we can honor their memory in the way we honor one another."

Those words certainly hitting home to this man right here, Captain Robert Norcross, here and Engine Company Number 3. Captain, if you could just start out by talking to me about what some of your thoughts are now that the ceremony is over.

CAPT. ROBERT NORCROSS: Well, it's never really over. The ceremony is just part of the grieving process, we think. Even though ground zero will be closed, for us their memory is still as fresh as it was September 11th.

CARROLL: I noticed here as I was standing in the room people cried when that empty stretcher was brought out of ground zero. They gave a salute as the steel (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was brought out as well. But always this sort of determined look on everyone's face here in the room.

NORCROSS: Well the mission isn't complete yet. We have not identified all the bodies. And we would like to have all our members recovered at some point.

CARROLL: In fact, of the five victims from this particular engine company, how many, just three of the five...

NORCROSS: Three were recovered and two are still missing, yes.

CARROLL: So what is next, then? I mean, does this in a sense bring any closure for you at all? I know some people said is a word that cannot be used at this moment in time.

NORCROSS: No. I don't think -- we kept thinking there was going to be closure. After all of our memorials were over we thought we had closure. The holidays, the six-month anniversary, today, but we still have another couple of months to go to the one-year anniversary, and then we'll be in the -- I don't know when there will be closure.

CARROLL: We've just been looking at some of the pictures of the men who did not survive from September 11th. Earlier this morning, I was talking to one of the firefighters. I asked him what would he be thinking about during the moment of silence. He said, "I'll be thinking about the five men."

What were some of your thoughts during that moment of silence?

NORCROSS: Well I specifically thought of the five men. But we had 343 members lost. But to thousands of people, you know, the fire department has got a lot of claim during this. But there was a lot of people that are missing at this time.

CARROLL: Captain Robert Norcross, thank you so very much for joining us at this very sensitive time. One final thought, if I could, Fredricka, at some point during the ceremony midway through, the fire station got a call. Some of the men had to then get up and go out. In a way, symbolically it's just a reminder of what these men are all about. They never at one moment stop being firefighters -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Never a hesitation. Thanks very much, Jason Carroll.

Well workers at ground zero have often said that they have witnessed the two extremes of humanity. the cruelty that brought down the buildings and the compassion that drew armies of volunteers, like those firefighters to the wreckage. Two of those workers are joining me now. Amy Lynette Smith and Bob Cline, both volunteers with the Interfaith World Trade Center Relief -- thank you very much for joining me.

AMY LYNETTE SMITH: Thank you.

BOB CLINE, GROUND ZERO VOLUNTEER: Thank you for having us.

WHITFIELD: Well, Amy, let me begin with you. How were the ceremonies for you?

SMITH: They were absolutely solemn, honorable, and it's exactly the way that we really should remember all of the people that died and all of the people that were so dedicated to the city and to this country, that gave their time and energy and love and compassion. And the silence was wonderful. Every day -- being in Battery Park City, every day you here it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The lights, the backup from all the machinery, so it was wonderful to hear actually silence there. It was amazing.

WHITFIELD: Bob, for you, that silence, did you feel that it's particularly resounding because your effort as a volunteer and other volunteers this is really been a labor fueled by anger, by frustration, by pain and by patriotism. And now that that labor is over, it would seem for an awful lot of volunteers and workers that it's going to be difficult now to kind of channel those energies.

CLINE: Well, in all honesty, I think it was more labor fueled by love. There was a lot of people who came out and opened up their hearts because it was the right thing to do for all those concerned. Of course there's a lot of anger. There's a lot of unhappiness in this situation. But it took great love for everybody to come together and do what needed to be done.

WHITFIELD: Some have described that there is going to be a feeling of loss now; that they have had this duty for some eight and half months now, and now it's kind of, you know, that feeling of now what? Do you feel you're going to have that?

SMITH: Absolutely. And our position at Interfaith, is we are establishing trying to create a community resource center. We have not been funded as of yet, but we believe that earlier in your program, Pat from Project Liberty, talked about the time that people are going to have on their hands and the post traumatic stress. And we would like to be a bridge for the community to feel comfortable finding out what kind of resources they do have to work through this.

We came together as an amazing country. We -- as temporary housing, we started up at the Chelsea Pier in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Center back on September 12th, and we housed 90 percent of the volunteers, the fire department, the police department that came in from everywhere. And we believe that we need to take control again and help the people work through the extra time they have, the feelings of loss and how to get back in touch with what can be, hopefully, a normalcy again, which will never be, of course, the same.

WHITFIELD: And Amy, that's a great point. Bob, there are still going to be those feelings from people that there is an awful lot to still be very traumatized and feel very emotional about, even though this symbolic end of the work at ground zero has taken place. So what do you anticipate and how do you go about reaching out to people who might be a little more difficult to reach, to find out what their feelings are in order to continue the duty of being a good volunteer and helping out?

CLINE: You couldn't have asked a better question. There is, you know, just that, a symbolic end to the situation. What they have yet to speak of is the fact that everybody from somebody who witnessed the attacks, all the way down to those who were in the pit daily working, are going to be in a position of remorse, anger, fear. All these combined feelings are going to put them in a position of not knowing where to turn and that is just the beginning of the recovery, you know.

Removing the debris and rubble is one of the biggest issues to be dealt with, but the largest issue to be dealt with now is the psychological fallout, the bereavement, the alcohol and substance abuse. The fear that, you know, they can't even talk to their family in the right way because, how do you speak of something that has happened, you know, in the last eight and half months?

WHITFIELD: Right. So this -- all right, Bob Cline and Amy Lynette Smith, this just being a precursor to yet another level of recovery for everyone. Thank you very for your hard work down there at ground zero and helping so many families and so many individuals get through what has been a very trying and difficult time for thousands of people. Thank you.

CLINE: Thank you very much for having us.

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