As you know, when I’m writing a book—which I’m usually doing—my interactions with the outside world are sometimes limited to what comes into my life through my email account, that includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. (The last would be those phony AI-manufactured literary praise messages that keep wanting to introduce me to non-existent book clubs everywhere even when the title in question isn’t one of mine. I believe I’ve mentioned those on more than one occasion!)
But often the real email exchanges, the authentic ones, give me a lead into that week’s blog topic, and that’s the case here.
This past week I heard from one of my LTR’s (Long-Time Readers) who happens to be a retired brigadier general from the US Air Force, and what he sent really moved me. It’s like what Paul Harvey used to call “the rest of the story”—the part that happens after the headlines go away, leaving the general public totally in the dark. Usually my blog consists of something that I’ve written personally. This week’s post is an exception to that rule. I’m posting verbatim what was sent to me.
And in case you’re wondering, Fresh Kills isn’t the topic of a new book about some random serial killer—at least not to my knowledge. It’s actually the name of what was once the world’s largest landfill located on Staten Island.
Fresh Kills The part of 9/11 you were never told — out of respect for the fallen
After September 11th, more than a million tons of material from the World Trade Center was taken by barge to Staten Island.
Th place was called Fresh Kills.
For 50 years it had been the largest landfill in the world. It had just closed for good on March 22, 2001. New York was finally done with it.
Five and a half months later, at 2 a.m. on September 12th, the director got a phone call at home. Two trucks were at the gate. They were carrying pieces of the towers.
He drove back to work. He later said quietly — if Fresh Kills had not just closed, this could never have happened. There would have been no room. The site was empty when America needed it to be empty.
And that is where the towers went.
Here is how it worked. At Ground Zero, crews loaded debris into trucks. The trucks went to a pier on the Hudson. There, it was loaded onto barges — 600 tons at a time. More than 1,500 barges made that trip, past the Statue of Liberty, to Staten Island.
At Fresh Kills, the material was sorted by size. Then it went onto long conveyor belts.
And along those belts stood hundreds of Americans in white protective suits. NYPD detectives. FBI agents. Port Authority officers. Medical examiners. Sanitation workers.
Hour after hour, day after day, they watched that belt as the towers slowly rolled past.
When they saw something personal, they reached in and placed it in a white bucket at their feet.
A wedding ring. A badge. A photo ID. A set of keys. A family photo.
Those white buckets went to a tent that served as a morgue. Everything was cleaned, catalogued, and whenever possible, returned to families who had nothing else.
In mid-September they were processing 1,750 tons a day. By October, 17,500 tons a day. Around the clock.
That 200-acre hill was declared a federal crime scene and stayed one for ten months. It did not close for weather. It did not close for Christmas. It ran until July 2002.
One supervisor, Barry Asnes, said what kept him there for 16-hour shifts, 7 days a week: “We were attacked on our own soil, in the city where I was born. This was personal.”
A retired detective wrote about what a shift was like. Wake at 3 a.m. Drive two hours in the dark to Staten Island. Put on the white suit. Stand at the belt. Look. Drive two hours home. Do it again tomorrow.
By the end, the teams on that hill had recovered thousands of remains and tens of thousands of personal effects — wallets, wedding bands, badges — all returned to families.
When they finished, the remaining material was placed in a 48-acre section, 225 feet high, and covered. It is a park now.
Many of the men and women who stood on that hill now have breathing issues, health conditions, and trauma from the air they breathed for 10 months. Some have passed away. Almost nobody knows their names.
2,753 people were murdered in those towers. Only about six in ten have ever been identified. Every one of those identifications, every ring returned to a widow, every badge returned to a firehouse — came from someone in a white suit, at 4 in the morning, on a landfill hill, who reached in and sent someone home.
They did it for ten months. Nobody was watching. No one was applauding.
They did it anyway. Because it was the right thing to do.
Never forget them, too.
I hope this story touches you as much as it did me, because I had no idea of the hundreds of people who put in all those countless hours attempting to locate some physical trace of a missing loved one or some personal token or trinket left in the rubble so it could be returned to the grieving families of those 2,753 people.
As far as I’m concerned it’s a story well worth repeating.
Thank you for sharing this.
I never thought about what goes into returning items to grieving families and loved ones in a situation like this. Reading this is gut wrenching, and humbling and awful and I am so grateful to those who lived and served in this effort.
THANK YOU!
I think I’m most likely like most people and didn’t totally grasp the enormity of the
Twin Towers’ rubble – what happened to it, what was in it, etc. From what I have seen in all the video documentaries of 9-11 the story ended with photos of the pile. Only from videos on the memorial at ground zero one got a sense of the destruction. But going through the tons of rubble by unknown faces is a story that needs to be know.
Thank you again.
Thank you, Judy, and thanks to your LTR, who knew this information was important for all Americans to know. More hero’s deeds that we did not realize had taken place.
Yes, it is… No other words…and, to add those lives lost who showed up to do the most unthinkable task: sort through the 9/11 remains, for any bit of memory for the survivors.
Love is indeed showing up…and those white coated workers did show up and did what needed to be done for love of our country. Blessings to you all.
Thank you.
Wow, this was certainly an eye opener. I agree with you, it is absolutely touching. Thank you for posting.
Thank you for this sobering glimpse into the aftermath of a terrible event.
I have been a long-time reader of your blog – this is one of the most interesting and informative blogs you have written. Thank You !!!
Thank you for sharing this so that more of us will know “the rest of the story.” I also had no idea–had never even considered this aspect of the aftermath of the despicable crime perpetrated on 9/11.
Sometimes I get a laugh at one of your blogs, sometimes a tear. This one was a tear. Thank you for sharing.
Blessing to you and Bill.
My family is peppered with first responders, my grandfather was fireman in Chicago for 38 years, uncles were too. My own father was a volunteer firefighter when we moved to a small town in California, his turn out boots and clothes always at the ready! My cousin was a detective in Trinity County, California, and broke up dog fighting rings. As a LTR, I find snippets of my family, even the other other half, who were “naughty “. Your story touched my heart, and I’ve seen first hand the spirit of Americans and the humble men and women, who quietly made America the great country it is.
All the unsung heroes. Thanks to the General, and thanks to you for passing it on.
Thanks for sharing this story. It is important for all of us to hear and remember.
Thank you, Judy…as someone who personally knew of items being returned to survivors, this touched my heart. I never knew exactly how these items were recovered so thank you for shedding light on this painful, illuminating experience.
I’m an LTR who learned all about my soon to be new home when my then partner gave me a few well read paperbacks about JP. That was in 1995: long before 9/11. Thanks so much for sharing this story. It really brings it home in a special way.
Thank you for sharing this very moving story! I had no idea! These people deserve recognition for their dedication and love for those who perished on September 11th! This will stay with me for a long time!
Thank you for sharing that story. Please thank your long time reader who shared that story and his service to our country and the folks working tirelessly to get people home.
Thank you.
Thank you. I had never heard that story. So much of what went on behind the scenes was never heard. I was getting ready for work that morning listening to Paul Harvey when the news came on. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I went and turned on the tv in time to see the plane crash into the tower . All those people and children on the plane, the ones in the tower. I’ll never forget that as long as I live. Never heard about the people in the white suits. All the unsung heroes. Thank you for sharing that story. God bless those people. I look forward to all your blogs but this one hit my heart. Thank you sincerely, Mary Ann
Thank you for sharing this. Can you see my tears?
Thank you for sharing this most likely unknown story of people who just did what needed to be done at a very horrific time in our history. This a great example of compassion for humanity, personal even though “they” are unknown to us personally.
Thanks for this heartfelt newsworthy information.
Thank you for sharing this with us. I also never knew what happened. I wonder why it was never told by the press. It certainly deserves to be told. Thanks to your LTR for sharing this very important information about a very tragic and sad time in our history.
Thank you for sharing
This brought tears to my eyes. God bless all those people who stood watch so that someone could go home to their loved ones.
Being a Trade Center survivor, this story brings tears to my eyes as well as pride in the American people. Who else would put in these hours to bring closure to people grieving? America is great even with its flaws!!!!
Thanks. More people need to know this.
Thank You
Thank you for the reminder to remember of all the people who have risked and have given their lives to help. It is a story that should never be forgotten and needs to be passed down to the generations who were either not born yet, or too young to remember.
You are so right. I thank them for their service just like our first responders here in AZ. Thank you so much for sharing.
You think that when you are 87 you have just about heard it all. I read your blog every week and I always find it interesting. This story about the landfill made me tear up. We Americans are very caring people and I am glad to be one of them.
Thank you so much for sharing. That story definitely needs to be shared. The people who did all that work need to be acknowledged if only as a group.
Thank you for sharing that Rest of the Story with us. It really moved me. Thanks to that LTR Retired BGEN USAF that shared it with you. I am a former USAF enlisted person, that is also a LTR. I have worked for the federal government since getting out of the USAF in 1992. I started the day after my separation with the NPS and now I work for the NLRB. Since 1/17/1984 I have worked USAF, NPS, DOI/BLS/VHA/USFS and will retire as the Administrative Officer with the NLRB on 12/31/2029. I will be four months over 65. I have loved your books for many of those years.
Thank you for sharing that story. It is really sobering and moving.
Thank you for passing on that bit of history, JA.
Thank you for putting this in your weekly blog, we all need to stop and remember those heroes.
AMEN
I am so moved by this information. Thank you, Judith.
Thank you for sharing about this , a story that needs to be told. Bless all those who performed such a difficult but important job.
so many forgotten by most loved by God too\
Thank you. I’m absolutely amazed this was never publicly posted. I was very moved .
I’m afraid only the older conservative generation will remember and honor the fallen from this terrorist attack.
Thank you. I’m absolutely amazed this was never publicly posted. I was very moved .
I’m afraid only the older conservative generation will remember and honor the fallen from this terrorist attack.
The unseen, unknown warriors just showed up to gather those precious items. Without them sacrificing; it is for me like those killed in the Pentagon, it is very hard to get closure. no list of names from all those contractors from all the defense companies on that plane. Thank you. I watched all day for more info on an exceptional contract for a special project, D.C.Lee. who did not call because he was on the plane. i helped his family afterwards for years. It is hard. A recent story in myedmondsnews.com was sent by Tom Harrison. See it at
Reader view: The hands that saved me on 9/11
By
Tom Harrison
September 14, 2026
Absolutely. I think I will forward it to friends and relatives. Wish I knew how to pit it on fb. Haven’t quite figured that one out yet. Thank you for forwarding his story to us tho!
Thank you.
As a visitor to NEW YORK CITY (with my daughter’s youth orchestra) in May/June of 2001, we saw the towers, of course. It still gives me chills to think of the attack. On September 11 I had just walked my son to grade school down the block, and stopped at my parents’ apartment on my way home. They had the morning news on, and it was so unreal. I don’t think my folks realized what was happening, and didn’t pay much attention, even though I told them we had just been to NYC recently. Seeing the second plane hit was like being punched in the gut.
The postcard we sent to my son’s school to be put on the bulletin board (they were instructed to send a postcard of their summer travels) was, of course, the iconic New York skyline with the towers standing tall right in the center.
Having also visited the Oklahoma City bombing site, and the Dallas, Texas site of President Kennedy’s assassination, (also on orchestra trips), we have seen so much of the bad. But also knowing there are good, brave people out there, lets us know there is hope. Bless all victims and families affected by the tragedies.
Thanks for sharing….the unnoticed have stories that should not be forgotten or ignored
Thank you for sharing this story even though it got very emotional reading and wounds are raw again. Years of WW TWO probably may not have caused this called of sorrow to New York/ New Jersey residents.
Heartfelt, thank you to person who sent it.
Yes, this reached my heart, too. This should be read and read again by all of us. It should be shared with the world so it’s never forgotten. Do we have your permission to share this with friends, family and on social media?
This is heartbreaking. Thank you for posting. I will always remember where I was on 9/11 and I cannot understand how much our country seems to have forgotten about the men that caused this tragedy.
Thank you, Miss Judy, for sharing forward this. Once again, you bring awareness to some human situations that most don’t see.
Thank you for sharing, and please thank the USAF brigadier general (ret) who sent the original letter regarding “Fresh Kills.” I had never heard this story. I’m so glad it has been told. Never forget.
Thank you for sharing this touching story. I was wondering who was the person that made the decision to do this?
Thank you for writing this.
This brought me to tears. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing that. That’s the American way that I love.