For Charlene LaGreca, a Public Health Nurse and member of Local 436, the mayhem of Sept. 11 erupted as soon as she got to work that morning. Minutes after she arrived at Staten Island's PS 80 for another day of dispensing medication, meeting with parents and making referrals, the school received a bomb threat.

Despite shock and fear, everyone was safely evacuated. Almost as soon as the bomb squad arrived, they raced off to answer the terror attacks at the World Trade Center.

And after the parents picked up their children, Ms. LaGreca joined the hundreds of dedicated and courageous volunteers who provided emergency assistance at Ground Zero.

She helped organize a medical station and administered respiratory treatments and eye washes to Police Officers, Firefighters and rescue workers. She joined the "bucket brigade" removing debris and body parts and even directed traffic at a busy intersection.

"I did whatever I could to help," said Ms. LaGreca, who is also the local's Staten Island borough rep. "It was very chaotic down there during the first couple of days. The National Guard was on every corner."

Every day from Sept. 11 until the beginning of October, she followed an arduous schedule. After her regular shift at PS 80, she worked at Ground Zero until well past midnight before heading back home to Staten Island. With only a couple of hours sleep, she would go to work the next morning and then head back to the disaster site.

"I just had to be there and help. There was no other place to be," said Ms. LaGreca, who also used her vacation days to work at the site.

Her experience amid the rubble and the bodies "changed my whole life," she said. Since then, she has lost weight, had nightmares and developed a heightened sense of smell. "The odor is something that I'll never forget."

When the anthrax attacks hit, Ms. LaGreca and several other nurses from Local 436 pitched in again. They tested thousands of people - including the staff of the New York Post and local NBC reporters Janice Huff and Len Berman at the Rockefeller Center studios.

Firefighters and Police have received tremendous recognition for their rescue efforts, "and deservedly so," said Local 436 President Gloria Acevedo. "But Public Health Nurses like Charlene LaGreca kept them going and made invaluable contributions of their own."

— Alfredo Alvarado