Public Employee Press

2001-2011
"I just had to walk away and cry"

City Mortuary Technician Leonard Benjamin, a 24- year veteran employee and Local 420 member, worked for months at Ground Zero, "the pit," where 2,996 people perished in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

"We were down there to help and everyone worked together - Firefighters, Police, EMS. I helped transport bodies, parts and pieces - some half, few whole - to Bellevue," Benjamin said. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner set up a triage camp of trailers where forensic scientists and CMTs helped identify human remains. "Everyone was working hard to identify the dead and give the families closure, but it was rare that we found whole bodies."

The 10 years since the terrorist attacks have been a long journey for most.

Some victims were identified early on and others remain unidentified to this day.

Recalling the experience, Benjamin said, "After three or four months we found a whole Fire Dept. company. That experience brought me to reality. As a kid I had always idolized Firefighters for their size and bravery. I saw them come around the corner carrying out the bodies, and saw them drop to their knees wailing with grief. They had found about eight members of their company. They had close ties; they were their children's godfathers, their brothers, their best friends. It was painful."

Benjamin said the Firefighters' bodies were whole and still in their gear, decomposed but not yet mummified. He said, "They carried them out with much care and dignity, as if they were pallbearers. I just had to walk away and cry."

—DSW