Library of Congress Website Features Stony Brook Collection of 9/11 Oral Histories
A new Library of Congress collection features the full Stony Brook World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program oral history project, highlighting on video the harrowing, personal and wide-ranging experiences of 9/11 responders and their families.
The oral histories — nearly 500 of them developed and produced at the WTC Health and Wellness Program — are now online at the Library of Congress website.
The new website was launched to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and the oral histories are housed in the American Folklife Center, which documents and shares the expressions of human experience to inspire, revitalize and perpetuate living cultural traditions. The collection includes 484 full-length video interviews conducted between April 2010 and September 2024, along with corresponding transcripts documenting what responders witnessed, why they responded, what they endured, and how the experience affected their health, families and lives in the years that followed. The collection finding aid contains a full inventory of the collection.
As a complete work, the interviews preserve not only the memories of a historic world-changing event, but the testimony of witnesses whose lives became part of its continuing history. The interviews are part of a project originally begun by Benjamin Luft, MD, director of the Stony Brook WTC Health and Wellness Program, which currently monitors and treats more than 16,000 9/11 responders.
“I began these interviews because I realized that my patients were not simply people who had become ill after 9/11, they were witnesses to history,” said Luft. “They had seen extraordinary courage, loss, compassion and sacrifice, and they were living with the consequences years later. We wanted to preserve their accounts in their own voices, before time inevitably changed what the nation remembered. Now, 25 years later, these interviews allow them to speak directly to future generations.”
Luft added that with the complete “Remembering 9/11 Oral History Project” now featured online for the first time by the Library of Congress, the resource is not only available for anyone to view, but also offers an important opportunity for medical professionals to reflect on the responsibilities of medicine in the aftermath of disaster and on the value of listening to and learning from those lived through this particular tragedy.
“It is our responsibility and privilege to safeguard this history to help educate people about the lives of 9/11 responders,” said Nicole Saylor, director of the American Folklife Center in a news release. “Making these in-depth interviews available worldwide is a major milestone not only in our collection stewardship efforts but also in ensuring that the stories, lives, and collective memory of 9/11 responders remain accessible around the world.”
Researchers and the public can search the detailed online archive by responder names, hometowns and occupations. The site also features five thematic compilations of excerpts from multiple interviews, exploring “the day America was attacked,” “rescue, recovery and cleanup,” “development of diseases and loss,” “resiliency,” and “family member perspectives,” as well as 42 additional compilations drawn from the full-length videos.
“The stories are so powerful,” said Luft. “They’re about courage, camaraderie, guilt, and love. I heard all of these things about volunteerism, selflessness and more. For me, it was almost like taking a civics lesson.”
Because of that, Luft said that he doesn’t want the story to be solely one of sadness.
“There are many sad parts to it of course, but it hasn’t been totally sad,” he said. “There’s so much inspiration that you derive from working and taking care of these remarkable people. For me, it wasn’t a job. It was a privilege. It enriched me, and I’m better for it.”
The oral histories also inspired Luft’s book, We’re Not Leaving: 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice, and Renewal, and the documentary 9/11: An American Requiem, which uses responders’ firsthand stories to preserve their experiences and the lessons that emerged from them. The documentary will return to the Staller Center Main Stage on September 10 at 7 pm for a special screening marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks, part of Stony Brook University’s September 11 commemoration.
Over many years of diligent work and advocacy, Stony Brook’s program grew into part of a far-reaching monitoring and treatment program. Today, the Stony Brook World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program offers comprehensive, integrative healthcare of 9/11-related conditions for WTC disaster responders.
Integral to the mission and scope of its member-centered care is an enduring support community, advocacy for our 9/11 responders and cutting-edge research. Responders are monitored for their physical and mental health conditions. The evolution of the program emphasizes medicine and society’s lasting connection to the WTC disaster and the importance we place on promoting health, even in the face of chronic illness.
— Robert Emproto