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Film, Video Excerpts of Philip Mattera oral history interview conducted by Dr. Benjamin Luft, September 17, 2010

About this Item

Title

  • Excerpts of Philip Mattera oral history interview conducted by Dr. Benjamin Luft, September 17, 2010

Names

  • Luft, Benjamin J. (Interviewer)
  • Mattera, Philip (Interviewee)

Created / Published

  • Stony Brook, New York, September 17, 2010

Headings

  • -  September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001
  • -  World Trade Center (New York, N.Y. : 1970-2001)
  • -  First responders
  • -  Rescue work
  • -  Terrorism--United States
  • -  Building inspectors
  • -  Oral histories
  • -  Interviews
  • -  Video recordings
  • -  United States -- New York -- New York

Genre

  • Oral histories
  • Interviews
  • Video recordings

Notes

  • -  Summary: Philip Mattera was a building inspector for the NYC Department of Buildings during 9/11. He was in a meeting on the 14th floor of the Building Department on Hudson St., when a coworker called alerting them about a plane hitting the WTC. Mattera and his coworkers viewed through their windows what looked like a “little hole” in the first tower. Mattera and a coworker went to their building’s roof to get a better look. Mattera thought furniture was being thrown from the building, but his coworker had binoculars and urged them to leave realizing it was people throwing themselves out of windows. Back at work, they heard the news of a potential terrorist attack and saw the second plane hit. In the street near the WTC, he saw the building collapse on itself, leading everyone in the street to panic and run. It seemed “like time stood still” as the tower collapsed and “the cloud came.” Mattera ran thinking the cloud would kill him; he ran nonstop to Canal Street and couldn’t breathe once he stopped. Mattera recalls he and his coworkers were unable to shower or return home for days, noting that the hope of finding people in the rubble kept them going. Mattera recalls the debris at Ground Zero being three or four stories high, and posters of missing people everywhere. A year after 9/11 he began to suffer from PTSD as well as panic and anxiety attacks. He also believes it impacted his family seeing him suffer. Mattera recalls the months after 9/11, and how the city and country came together. He concludes, “in drastic times this country does pull together, and we can get through anything as long as we stick together.”

Medium

  • 1 moving image file (mp4): digital

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Call Number: AFC 2015/048: 053

Source Collection

  • Benjamin Luft collection of 9-11 oral histories (AFC 2015/048)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Rights & Access

The rights in this collection held by Benjamin Luft are governed by copyright for the full duration under U.S. copyright law. While the collection is still under copyright, patrons may make only verbatim use of the work. The creation of derivative works is not permitted. Third party rights may be governed by copyright or other restrictions.

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The American Folklife Center and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, experiences, and feelings are documented here. 

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Credit line

Benjamin Luft collection of 9-11 oral histories (AFC 2015/048), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Luft, Benjamin J, and Philip Mattera. Excerpts of Philip Mattera oral history interview conducted by Dr. Benjamin Luft. Stony Brook, New York, 2010. Video. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc2015048_053_Vignette/.

APA citation style:

Luft, B. J. & Mattera, P. (2010) Excerpts of Philip Mattera oral history interview conducted by Dr. Benjamin Luft. Stony Brook, New York. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc2015048_053_Vignette/.

MLA citation style:

Luft, Benjamin J, and Philip Mattera. Excerpts of Philip Mattera oral history interview conducted by Dr. Benjamin Luft. Stony Brook, New York, 2010. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/afc2015048_053_Vignette/>.