Lower Manhattan Survivor Pam M. and retired NYPD World Trade Center Recovery Worker Rita P. share their personal stories of September 11th in their 9/11 Tribute Museum presentation of We Were There on stage at the National September 11th Memorial Museum.
Pam worked 2 buildings away from the World Trade Center as an attorney for the New York City Law Department on 9/11. Emotionally and physically exhausted from traumatic events that she had experienced just weeks before, she was able to find the strength to get herself and her coworker to safety during the attacks. Pam credits that very strength she found on 9/11 to help her get through a later tragedy in her life--the stroke and long-term hospitalization of her husband. Looking back on the events from that day, Pam has found a greater appreciation for the people that she has in her life who bring her absolute joy, and encourages listeners to see life as a gift worth living.
Rita was a Sergeant for the NYPD on 9/11. In the months after, she was among the hundreds of dedicated police officers who searched through the World Trade Center rubble for remains at Fresh Kills landfill. Now a flight attendant and fulfilling her dream of travelling the world, Rita talks about the horrors she experienced at the landfill, the fulfillment she found in being able to give families even a little bit of closure, and the impact 9/11 had and continues to have on her life.