The Forgotten Responders: Jerry O’Gara Shares Corrections Officers’ Role in 9/11 Recovery

PALM COAST, Fla. – For Jerry O’Gara, Sept. 11, 2001, is not a chapter confined to history. It remains a collection of vivid, recurring memories — the sights, sounds, smoke, dust and, perhaps most hauntingly, the silence.

“Many of us don’t remember it as history,” O’Gara said. “It is a recurring memory.”

Speaking on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the retired New York City Department of Correction official shared the largely untold story of the corrections officers, supervisors, clergy members and civilian employees who supported rescue, evacuation, recovery and evidence operations at Ground Zero and beyond.

When people remember the first responders of 9/11, O’Gara said, they understandably think of firefighters and police officers. But more than 40 government agencies — along with private companies and ordinary New Yorkers — contributed to the monumental response.

Among them were members of the New York City Department of Correction.

“Right about now, there are probably people asking, ‘What does a jail have to do with an emergency like this?’” O’Gara said.

On that clear Tuesday morning, O’Gara was working at Rikers Island. The division chief was on vacation, and O’Gara had been asked to serve as acting division chief.

A captain entered his office and reported that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. O’Gara initially wondered if it was a test or emergency drill. Moments later, his driver confirmed the horrifying news.

The department immediately implemented emergency plans that had been carefully developed and repeatedly practiced. Operations at Rikers Island were locked down, and staff members were told they could not leave because no one knew whether additional attacks were coming.

Like millions of others, correctional employees were trying to comprehend what was happening while continuing to perform their jobs.

Rikers Island, O’Gara explained, operated like a city within a city. It had its own firehouse, one of New York City’s largest transportation fleets, a hospital, power plant, communications center, emergency service unit, bakery and support services for 10 jails.

That infrastructure and experience made the department an important part of the city’s response.

After working approximately 14 hours, O’Gara and his driver traveled to Ground Zero. He spent several days working on what responders called “the pile,” including joining the bucket brigade.

Workers sifted through still-smoldering debris and moved anything that could fit into a five-gallon bucket. Each bucket removed another small piece of wreckage — and carried the hope that someone might be found beneath it.

“Each bucket held the painful hope that clearing one more piece might reveal someone,” O’Gara said.

For months, correctional officers and supervisors voluntarily reported to Ground Zero after completing shifts that often lasted between eight and 16 hours. Correction captains supervised teams composed of personnel from multiple agencies working on the pile.

O’Gara recalled one correctional emergency service officer whose small stature allowed him to enter a narrow opening in the debris. Inside, the officer discovered several deceased firefighters and two Port Authority police officers. He withdrew from the unstable space, notified firefighters and then helped recover the fallen responders.

“Moments like that stay with a person,” O’Gara said.

The Department of Correction also provided essential logistical support. Its personnel helped establish a communications center at a high school and produced identification for workers assigned to Ground Zero.

The department’s marine unit participated in the massive evacuation of Lower Manhattan, helping transport people to New Jersey, Brooklyn and Staten Island. Correctional clergy members reported to the site to offer daily prayers and counseling.

When darkness fell, powerful lighting supplied by the department illuminated the recovery site. Correction vehicles transported personnel, supplies and equipment for months.

Perhaps the department’s most difficult responsibility involved assisting with the recovery, processing and respectful handling of human remains.

Personnel worked around refrigerated trucks and examination tables, searching for personal property and anything that might help establish an identity. Items could include a mangled shield from a uniform, a class ring, part of a flight attendant’s uniform, a tattoo or a soot-covered firefighter’s helmet.

“Every fragment was a life, a family, a story and someone waiting for answers,” O’Gara said.

Despite the scale of the devastation, he said, the priority was always to treat the deceased with dignity and help families reunite with their loved ones whenever possible.

Debris from Ground Zero was transported by barge to the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island. Correctional employees assisted there as well, meticulously searching through destroyed vehicles, building materials and office furnishings for personal belongings, evidence and human remains.

An additional 135 victims were identified through the work conducted at the landfill, O’Gara said. In total, approximately 20,000 human remains and 100,000 pieces of personal property were recovered during the broader operation.

The work carried a lasting human cost.

More than 1,000 correctional officers, supervisors, clergy members and civilian employees participated in the response. O’Gara said approximately 800 later became ill, 45 died from 9/11-related illnesses and one was lost to suicide.

“The Department of Correction played a major, multilayered role in rescue, evacuation, recovery, logistics and evidence discovery,” he said. “It was work that went largely unrecognized for many years.”

Recognition, however, was never the reason they answered the call.

“We went because people needed help,” O’Gara said. “We went because that is what service demands.”

Amid the unimaginable tragedy, O’Gara also shared one story of hope; retired New York City Detective Fred Manzolillo and retired correctional officer Kathy Riley met while serving during the recovery operation. They later married and now reside in Palm Coast.

“Out of this tragedy came a blessing,” O’Gara said.

He closed by honoring not only the corrections personnel who served after the attacks, but also those whose sacrifices continue each day in service to their communities and country.

“I hope this helps honor those who served, those who suffered, those who were lost and those whose quiet courage deserves to be seen,” O’Gara said. “May God bless America.”