Former NYPD captain-turned-restaurant-owner Doug Greenwood doesn't like to think about 9/11, or the 40 days afterwards he spent neck-deep in debris and dust looking for survivors.
But 10 years later, he's finally displaying the rarely seen photos from that period of time.
He says he almost felt guilty keeping the photographs he’s had to himself.
"For me to have in my possession for the past 10 years... it just seems criminal to me," he said. "So I thought, 'I have to make these photos public and get these people identified.'"
It was Greenwood’s friend, professional photographer Kevin McCormick, who took the photos.
McCormick gained unprecedented access to the site, and later gave copies to Greenwood. He initially kept them mostly to himself, but now he's displaying them on the walls of Bleecker Street Pizza.
There's a picture of a World Trade Center pillar with the names of a half-dozen lost firefighters written in dusk. There's a self-portrait of McCormick, a t-shirt wrapped around his mouth for protection. There's a shot of a female police officer, standing in the rubble.
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"Breaking out these pictures was rough," he said. "It made me think of that horrible day and what took place."
Greenwood said he hopes that the brave people seen in these photos, helping with the rescue and recovery efforts, will be identified and that they get to have a copy for themselves and their families.
"This is the event of the century. If you were photographed helping out during this event, you would want your photo for history."
If you can identify the people in the photos, please email Greenwood at heroesof911@gmail.com.
