StoryCorps 9/11: John Romanowich

From: StoryCorps
Length: 02:04

John Romanowich, a recovery worker, remembers his first day at Ground Zero after September 11, 2001. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: StoryCorps 9/11: John Romanowich
From: StoryCorps

Romanovich2_small In 2001, John Romanovich was working for the New York City Department of Design and Construction. After the attacks of 9/11, his agency was put in charge of the cleanup at Ground Zero.

In this piece, Romanovich talks about arriving at the World Trade Center site just days after the attack.

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Piece Description

In 2001, John Romanovich was working for the New York City Department of Design and Construction. After the attacks of 9/11, his agency was put in charge of the cleanup at Ground Zero.

In this piece, Romanovich talks about arriving at the World Trade Center site just days after the attack.

Broadcast History

NPR's Morning Edition September 10, 2010

Transcript

JR: I remember stepping off a bus that took us there. And I'd seen enough of it on television to pretty much know what to expect, but the initial impression was as if we had walked out of the audience and became part of the show, like we crossed into a different reality.

I was working from 3 in the afternoon to 11 or midnight. By the time I got home, my wife and daughter were sleeping. When I woke up I was alone, I'd have breakfast. And one day I was getting ready and my identification to be able to access the site was gone. My daughter had taken my ID to school. Well, the next time that we were both home and awake, my daughter asked me to forgive her for taking it because she was just proud that she wanted to show her friends who I was. I think most of us considered ourselves just to be ants crawling around on the pile. But in her eyes, I was a big deal -- I was going to Ground Zero...
Read the full transcript

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

John Romanowich [ROE-Man-O-vich] spent four months at Ground Zero... working for the Department of Design and Construction, the city agency in charge of the clean up.

Here, Romanowich talks about arriving at the World Trade Center site just days after the attack.

OUTRO:

John Romanowich, a recovery worker at the World Trade Center site in New York City.

These interviews will be archived at the Library of Congress... and at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum.

The podcast is at NPR.org